LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 






Chap. ..??. Copyright No.. 



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Shelf. 

\Qoo 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



36058 



Library of Congress 

Two Copies Received 
AUG 18 1900 

Copyright entry 
OIL*,!*/'?* 

SECOND COPY. 

Delivered to 

0«0t« DIVISION, 
AUG 27 190U 



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Copyright, 1900, by W. B. Conkey Company. 



68765 



TO THE MOST NOBLE 
JOHN JAMES 

MARQUIS OF ABERCORN 

ETC., ETC., ETC. 

THIS POEM IS INSCRIBED 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGES 

INTRODUCTION 7 

THE LADY OF THE LAKE: 

Canto I. — The Chase 19 

II.— The Island 56 

III.— The Gathering 97 

IV.— The Prophecy 136 

V.— The Combat 174 

VI. — The Guard-room 217 

APPENDIX 259 



INTRODUCTION 
TO 

THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 
Edition 1830. 



After the success of "Marmion," I felt in- 
clined to exclaim with Ulysses, in the 
41 Odyssey:" 

''One venturous game my hand has won to-day — 
Another, gallants, yet remains to play." 

The ancient manners, the habits and cos- 
tumes of the aboriginal race by whom the 
Highlands of Scotland were inhabited, had 
always appeared to me peculiarly adapted to 
poetry. The change in their manners, too, 
had taken place almost within my own time, 
or at least I had learned many particulars con- 
cerning the ancient state of the Highlands 
from the old men of the last generation. I 
had always thought the old Scottish Gael highly 
adapted for poetical composition. The feuds 
and political dissensions, which half a century 
earlier would have rendered the richer and 
wealthier part of the kingdom indisposed to 
countenance a poem, the scene of which was 
laid in the Highlands, were now sunk in the 

7 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

generous compassion which the English, more 
than any other nation, feel for the misfortunes 
of an honorable foe. The Poems of Ossian 
had, by their popularity, sufficiently shown 
that if writings on Highland subjects were 
qualified to interest the reader, mere national 
prejudices were in the present day very un- 
likely to interfere with their success. 

I had also read a great deal, seen much, and 
heard more of that romantic country, where I 
was in the habit of spending some time every 
autumn ; and the scenery of Loch Katrine was 
connected with the recollection of many a dear 
friend and merry expedition of former days. 
This poem, the action of which lay among 
scenes so beautiful, and so deeply imprinted 
on my recollections, was a labor of love; and it 
was no less so to recall the manners and inci- 
dents introduced. The frequent custom of 
James IV., and particularly of James V., to 
walk through their kingdom in disguise, 
afforded me the hint of an incident, which 
never fails to be interesting if managed with 
the slightest address or dexterity. 

I may now confess, however, that the em- 
ployment, though attended with great pleas- 
ure, was not without its doubts and anxieties. 
A lady, to whom I was nearly related, and 
with whom I lived, during her whole life, on 
the most brotherly terms of affection, was 
residing with me at the time when the work 
was in progress, and used to ask me what I 
could possibly do to rise so early in the morn- 
ing (that happening to be the most convenient 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

time to me for composition). At last I told 
her the subject of my meditations; and I can 
never forget the anxiety and affection ex- 
pressed in her reply, "Do not be so rash," she 
said, "my dearest cousin.* You are already 
popular — more so, perhaps, than you j^ourself 
will believe, or than even I, or other partial 
friends, can fairly allow to your merit. You 
stand high — do not rashly attempt to climb 
higher, and incur the risk of a fall; for, depend 
upon it, a favorite will not be permitted even 
to stumble with impunity. " I replied to this 
affectionate expostulation in the words of Mon- 
trose — 

"He either fears his fate too much, 
Or his deserts are small, 
Who dares not put it to the touch 
To gain or lose it all." 

"If I fail," I said, for the dialogue is strong 
in my recollection, "it is a sign that I ought 
never to have succeeded, and I will write prose 
for life : you shall see no change in my temper, 
nor will I eat a single meal the worse. But if 
1 succeed, — 

"Up with the bonny blue bonnet, 

The dirk, and the feather, and a* !" 

Afterwards I showed my affectionate and 



* The lady with whom Sir Walter Scott held this con- 
versation was, no doubt, his aunt, Miss Christian Ruth- 
erford ; there was no other female relation dead when 
this Introduction was written, whom I can suppose him 
to have consulted on literary questions. Lady Capu- 
let, on seeing the corpse of Tybalt, exclaims — "Tybalt, 
my cousin ! oh my brother's child!" Ed. 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

anxious critic the first canto of the poem, 
which reconciled her to my imprudence. 
Nevertheless, although I answered thus con- 
fidently, with the obstinacy often said to be 
proper to those who bear my surname, I 
acknowledge that my confidence was consider- 
ably shaken by the warning of her excellent 
taste and unbiased friendship. Nor was I 
much comforted by her retractation of the un- 
favorable judgment, when I recollected how 
likely a natural partiality was to effect that 
change of opinion. In such cases, affection 
rises like a light on the canvas, improves any 
favorable tints which it formerly exhibited, 
and throws its defects into the shade. 

I remember that about the same time a 
friend started in to "heeze up my hope," like 
the " sportsman with his cutty-gun/ ' in the old 
song. He was bred a farmer, but a man of 
powerful understanding, natural good taste, 
and warm poetical feeling, perfectly competent 
to supply the wants of an imperfect or irregu- 
lar education. He was a passionate admirer 
of field-sports, which we often pursued 
together. 

As this friend happened to dine with me at 
Ashesteil one day, I took the opportunity of 
reading to him the first canto of "The Lady 
of the Lake, ■ ' in order to ascertain the effect 
the poem was likely to produce upon a person 
who was but too favorable a representative of 
readers at large. It is, of course, to be sup- 
posed, that I determined rather to guide my 
opinion by what my friend might appear to 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

feel than by what he might think fit to say. 
His reception of my recitation, or prelection, 
was rather singular. He placed his hand 
across his brow and listened with great atten- 
tion through the whole account of the stag- 
hunt, till the does threw themselves into the 
lake to follow their master, who embarks with 
Ellen Douglas. He then started up with a 
sudden exclamation, struck his hand on the 
table, and declared, in a voice of censure calcu- 
lated for the occasion, that the dogs must have 
been totally ruined by being permitted to take 
the water after such a severe chase. I own I 
was much encouraged by the species of reverie 
which had possessed so zealous a follower of 
the sports of the ancient Nimrod, who had been 
completely surprised out of all doubts of the 
reality of the tale. Another of his remarks 
gave me less pleasure. He detected the iden- 
tity of the King with the wandering knight, 
Fitz-James, when he winds his bugle to sum- 
mon his attendants. He was probably thinking 
of the lively, but somewhat licentious, old bal- 
lad, in which the denouement of a royal intrigue 
takes place as follows: — 



'He took a bugle frae his side. 

He blew both loud and shrill, 
And four-and-twenty belted knights 

Came skipping ower the hill ; 
Then he took out a little knife, 

Let a' his duddies fa', 
And he was the bra west gentleman 

That was amang them a'. 
And we'll go no more a-roving," etc. 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

This discovery, as Mr. Pepys says of the rent 
in his camlet cloak, was but a trifle, yet it 
troubled me ; and I was at a good deal of pains 
to efface any marks by which I thought my 
secret could be traced before the conclusion, 
when I relied on it with the same hope of pro- 
ducing effect, with which the Irish post-boy is 
said to reserve a "trot for the avenue. " 

I took uncommon pains to verify the accu- 
racy of the local circumstances of this story. 
I recollect, in particular, that to ascertain 
whether I was telling a probable tale, I went 
into Perthshire to see whether King James 
could actually have ridden from the banks of 
Loch Vannechar to Stirling Castle within the 
time supposed in the Poem, and had the pleas- 
ure to satisfy myself that it was quite practic- 
able. 

After a considerable delay, "The Lady of 
the Lake" appeared in June, 1810; and its suc- 
cess was certainly so extraordinary as to in- 
duce me for the moment to conclude that I 
had at last fixed a nail in the proverbially in- 
consistent wheel of Fortune, whose stability in 
behalf of an individual who had so boldly 
courted her favor for three successive times 
had not as yet been shaken. I had attained, 
perhaps, that degree of public reputation at 
which prudence, or certainly timidity, would 
have made a halt, and discontinued efforts by 
which I was far more likely to diminish my 
fame than to increase it. But as the celebrated 
John Wilkes is said to have explained to his 
late Majesty, that he himself, amid his full 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

tide of popularity, was never a Wilkite, so I 
can, with honest truth, exculpate myself from 
having been at any time a partisan of my own 
poetry, even when it was in the highest fashion 
with the million. It must not be supposed, 
that I was either so ungrateful, or so super- 
abundantly candid, as to despise or scorn the 
value of those whose voice had elevated me so 
much higher than my own opinion told me I 
deserved. I felt, on the contrary, the more 
grateful to the public, as receiving that from 
partiality to me, which I could not have 
claimed from merit ; and I endeavored to de- 
serve the partiality, by continuing such exer- 
tions as I was capable of for their amusement. 

It may be that I did not, in this continued 
course of scribbling, consult either the interest 
of the public or my own. But the former had 
effectual means of defending themselves, and 
could, by their coldness, sufficiently check any 
approach to intrusion ; and for myself, I had 
now for several years dedicated my hours so 
much to literary labor, that I should have felt 
difficulty in employing myself otherwise ; and 
so, like Dogberry, I generously bestowed all 
my tediousness on the public, comforting my- 
self with the reflection, that if posterity should 
think me undeserving of the favor with which 
I was regarded by my contemporaries, "they 
could but say I had the crown," and had en- 
joyed for a time that popularity which is so 
much coveted. 

I conceived, however, that I held the distin- 
guished situation I had obtained, however un- 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

worthily, rather like the champion of pugilism,* 
on the condition of being always ready to show 
proofs of my skill, than in the manner of the 
champion of chivalry, who performs his duties 
only on rare and solemn occasions. I was in 
any case conscious that I could not long hold 
a situation which the caprice, rather than the 
judgment, of the public, had bestowed upon 
me, and preferred being deprived of my prece- 
dence by some more worthy rival, to sinking 
into contempt for my indolence, and losing my 
reputation by what Scottish lawyers call the 
negative prescription. Accordingly, those who 
choose to look at the Introduction to Rokeby, 
in the present edition, will be able to trace the 
steps by which I decline as a poet to figure as 
a novelist ; as the ballad says, Queen Eleanor 
sunk at Charing-Cross to rise again at Queen- 
hithe. 

It only remains for me to say, that, during 
my short pre-eminence of popularity, I faith- 
fully observed the rules of moderation which I 
had resolved to follow before I began my course 
as a man of letters. If a man is determined to 
make a noise in the world, he is as sure to en- 
counter abuse and ridicule, as he who gallops 
furiously through a village must reckon on 
being followed by the curs in full cry. Expe- 
rienced persons know, that in stretching to flog 



* "In twice five years the 'greatest living poet,' 
Like to the champion in the fisty ring, 
Is called on to support his claim, or show it, 
Although 'tis an imaginary thing," etc. 

Don Juan, canto xi. st, 55. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

the latter, the rider is very apt to catch a bad 
fall ; nor is an attempt to chastise a malignant 
critic attended with less danger to the author. 
On this principle, I let parody, burlesque, 
and squibs find their own level ; and while the 
latter hissed most fiercely, I was cautious 
never to catch them up, as school-boys do, to 
throw them back against the naughty boy who 
fired them off, wisely remembering that they 
are, in such cases, apt to explode in the hand- 
ling. Let me add, that my reign * (since 
Byron has so called it) was marked by some 
instances of good-nature as well as patience. 
I never refused a literary person of merit 
such services in smoothing his way to the pub- 
lic as were in my power; and I had the advan- 
tage, rather an uncommon one with our irrit- 
able race, to enjoy general favor, without 
incurring permanent ill-will, so far as is known 
to me, among any of my contemporaries. 

W. S. 
Abbotsford, April, 1830. 

* "Sir Walter reign' d before," etc. 

Don Juan, canto xi. st. 57. 



ARGUMENT. 

The Scene of the following Poem is laid 
chiefly in the vicinity of Loch Katrine, in the 
Western Highlands of Perthshire. The time 
of action includes six days, and the trans- 
actions of each day occupy a Canto. * 

* "Never, we think, has the analogy between poetry 
and painting been more strikingly exemplified than in 
the writings of Mr. Scott. He sees everything with a 
painter's eye. Whatever he represents has a character 
of individuality, and is drawn with an accuracy and 
minuteness of discrimination which we are not accus- 
tomed to expect from verbal description. Much of this, 
no doubt, is the result of genius ; for there is a quick 
and comprehensive power of discernment, an intensity 
and keenness of observation, an almost intuitive glance 
which nature alone can give, and by means of which 
her favorites are enabled to discover characteristic dif- 
ferences where the eye of dulness sees nothing but uni- 
formity; but something also must be referred to dis- 
cipline and exercise. The liveliest fancy can only call 
forth those images which are already stored up in the 
memory; and all that invention can do is to unite these 
into new combinations, which must appear confused and 
ill-defined, if the impressions originally received by the 
senses were deficient in strength and distinctness. It 
is because Mr. Scott usually delineates those objects 
with which he is perfectly familiar that his touch is so 
easy, correct, and animated. The rocks, the ravines, 
and the torrents, which he exhibits, are not the imper- 
fect sketches of a hurried traveler, but the finished 
studies of a resident artist, deliberately drawn from 
different points of view; each has its true shape and 
position; it is a portrait; it has its name by which the 
spectator is invited to examine the exactness of the 
resemblance. The figures which are combined with the 

2 17 



18 ARGUMENT. 

landscape are painted with the same fidelity. Like 
those of Salvator Rosa, they are perfectly appropriate 
to the spot on which they stand. The boldness of fea- 
ture, the lightness and compactness of form, the wild- 
ness of air, and the careless ease of attitude of these 
mountaineers, are as congenial to their native highlands 
as the birch and the pine which darken their glens, the 
sedge which fringes their lakes, or the heath which 
waves over their moors." — Quarterly Review, May, 
1810. 

"It is honorable to Mr. Scott's genius that he has 
been able to interest the public so deeply with his third 
presentment of the same chivalrous scenes ; but we can- 
not help thinking that both his glory and our gratifica- 
tion would have been greater if he had changed his 
hand more completely, and actually given us a true 
Celtic story, with all its drapery and accompaniments in 
a corresponding style of decoration. Such a subject, we 
are persuaded, has very great capabilities, and only 
wants to be introduced to public notice by such a hand 
as Mr. Scott's to make a still more powerful impression 
than he has already effected by the resurrection of the 
tales of romance. There are few persons, we believe, 
of any degree of poetical susceptibility, who have wan- 
dered among the secluded valleys of the Highlands, 
and contemplated the singular people by whom they are 
still tenanted — with their love of music and of song — 
their hardy and irregular life, so unlike the unvarying 
toils of the Saxon mechanic — their devotion to their 
chiefs — their wild and lofty traditions — their national 
enthusiasm — the melancholy grandeur of the scenes 
they inhabit — and the multiplied superstitions which 
still linger among them — without feeling that there is 
no existing people so well adapted for the purposes of 
poetry, or so capable of furnishing the occasions of new 
and striking inventions. 

"We are persuaded that if Mr. Scott's powerful and 
creative genius were to be turned in good earnest to 
such a subject, something might be produced still more 
impressive and original than even this age has yet wit- 
nessed." — Jeffrey, Edinburgh Review, No. xvi., for 
1 8 10. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



CANTO FIRST. 

THE CHASE. 

Harp of the North! that mouldering long has 
hung 
On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's 
spring, 
And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung,* 

Till envious ivy did around thee cling, 
Muffling with verdant ringlet every string, — 
O minstrel Harp, still must thine accents 
sleep? 
'Mid rustling leaves and fountains murmuring, 
Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence 
keep, 
Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to 
weep? 
Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon, 
Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd, 
When lay of hopeless love, or glory won, 
Aroused the fearful, or subdued the proud. 

*MS. : "And on the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, 
Till envious ivy, with her verdant ring. 
Mantled and muffled each melodious string, — 
O Wizard Harp, still must thine accents 
sleep?" 

19 



20 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

At each according pause, was heard aloud* 
Thine ardent symphony sublime and high ! 
Fair dames and crested chiefs attention 
bow'd, 
For still the burden of thy ministrelsy 

Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and 
Beauty's matchless eye. 

O wake once more! how rude soe'er the hand 

That ventures o'er thy magic maze to stray; 
O wake once more! though scarce my skill 
command 

Some feeble echoing of thine earlier lay: 
Though harsh and faint, and soon to die away, 

And all unworthy of thy nobler strain, 
Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, 

The wizard note has not been touch 'd in vain. 
Then silent be no more ! Enchantress, wake 
again ! 



The stag at eve had drunk his fill, 

Where danced the moon on Monan's rill, 

And deep his midnight lair had made 

In lone Glenartney's hazel shade; 

But, when the sun his beacon red 

Had kindled on Benvoirlich's head, 

The deep-mouth 'd bloodhound's heavy bay 

Resounded up the rocky way, f 



*MS. : "At each according pause thou spokest aloud 
Thine ardent sympathy.*' 

•f MS. : "The bloodhound's notes of heavy bass, 
Resounded hoarsely up the pass. ' ' 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 21 

And faint, from farther distance borne, 
Were heard the clanging hoof and horn. 

ii. 

As Chief who hears his warder call, 

"To arms! the foemen storm the wall," 

The antler'd monarch of the waste 

Sprung from his heathery couch in haste. 

But, ere his fleet career he took, 

The dewdrops from his flanks he shook; 

Like crested leader proud and high, 

Toss'd his beam'd frontlet to the sky; 

A moment gazed adown the dale, 

A moment snuff 'd the tainted gale, 

A moment listen'd to the cry, 

That thicken'd as the chase drew nigh; 

Then, as the headmost foes appear'd, 

With one brave bound the copse he clear'd, 

And, stretching forward free and far, 

Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var.* 

* LJa-var, as the name is pronounced, or more properly 
Uaighmor, is a mountain to the northeast of the village 
of Callandar in Menteith, deriving its name, which 
signifies the great den or cavern, from a sort of retreat 
among the rocks on the south side, said, by tradition, 
to have been the abode of a giant. In latter times it 
was the refuge of robbers and banditti, who have been 
only extirpated within these forty or fifty years. 
Strictly speaking, this stronghold is not a cave, as the 
name would imply, but a sort of small enclosure, or 
recess, surrounded with large rocks, and open above 
head. It may have been originally designed as a toil 
for deer, who might get in from the outside, but would 
find it difficult to return. This opinion prevails among 
the old sportsmen and deer-stalkers in the neighbor- 
hood. 



22 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

ill. 

Yell'd on the view the opening pack; 
Rock, glen, and cavern, paid them back ; 
To many a mingled sound at once 
The awaken 'd mountain gave response, 
A hundred dogs bay'd deep and strong, 
Clatter'd a hundred steeds along, 
Their peal the merry horns rung out, 
A hundred voices join'd the shout; 
With hark and whoop and wild halloo, 
No rest Benvoirlich's echoes knew.* 
Far from the tumult fled the roe, 
Close in her covert cower'd the doe, 
The falcon, from her cairn on high, 
Cast on the rout a mondering eye, 
Till far beyond her piercing ken 
The hurricane had swept the glen. 
Faint, and more faint, its failing din 
Return'd from cavern, cliff, and linn, 
And silence settled, wide and still, 
On the lone wood and mighty hill. 

IV. 

Less loud the sounds of sylvan war 
Disturb'd the heights of Uam-Var, 
And roused the cavern, where, 'tis told, 
A giant made his den of old ; 
For ere that steep ascent was won, 



* Benvoirlich, a mountain comprehended in the clus- 
ter of the Grampians, at the head of the valley of the 
Garry, a river which springs from its base. It rises to 
an elevation of three thousand three hundred and thirty 
feet above the level of the sea. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 23 

High in his pathway hung the sun, 
And many a gallant, stayed perforce, 
Was fain to breathe his faltering horse, 
And of the trackers of the deer, 
Scarce half the lessening pack was near; 
So shrewdly on the mountain side 
Had the bold burst their mettle tried. 

v. 

The noble stag was pausing now, 
Upon the mountain's southern brow, 
Where broad extended, far beneath, 
The varied realms of fair Menteith, 
With anxious eye he wander'd o'er 
Mountain and meadow, moss and moor, 
And ponder'd refuge from his toil, 
By far Lochard * or Aberfoyle. 



.* M About a mile to the westward of the inn of Aber- 
foyle, Lochard opens to the view. A few hundred yards 
to the east of it, the Avendow, which had just issued 
from the lake, tumbles its waters over a rugged preci- 
pice of more than thirty feet in height, forming in the 
rainy season, several very magnificent cataracts. 

"The first opening of the lower lake, from the east, 
is uncommonly picturesque. Directing the eye nearly 
westward, Benlomond raises its pyramidal mass in the 
background. In nearer prospect, you have gentle emi- 
nences, covered with oak and birch to the very summit; 
the bare rock sometimes peeping through amongst the 
clumps. Immediately under the eye, the lower lake, 
stretching out from narrow beginnings to a breadth of 
about half a mile, is seen in full prospect. On the right, 
the banks are skirted with extensive oak woods, which 
cover the mountain more than half way up. 

"Advancing to the westward, the view of the lake is 
lost for about a mile. The upper lake, which is by far 
the most extensive, is separated from the lower by a 



24 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

But nearer was the copsewood gray, 
That waved and wept on Loch Achray, 
And mingled with the pine-trees blue 
On the bold cliffs of Benvenue. 
Fresh vigor with the hope re turn' d,* 
With flying foot the heath he spurn'd, 
Held westward with unwearied race, 
And left behind the panting chase. 



stream of about two hundred yards in length. The most 
advantageous view of the upper lake presents itself 
from a rising ground near its lower extremity, where a 
footpath strikes off to the south, in the wood that over- 
hangs this connecting stream. Looking westward, 
Benlomond is seen in the background, rising, at a dis- 
tance of six miles, in the form of a regular cone, its 
sides presenting a gentle slope to the northwest and 
southeast. On the right is the lofty mountain of Ben- 
oghrie, running west towards the deep vale in which 
Lochcon lies concealed from the eye. In the fore- 
ground, Lochard stretches out to the west in fairest 
prospect ; its length three miles, and its breadth a mile 
and a half. On the right it is skirted with woods; the 
northern and western extremity of the lake is diversified 
with meadows, and cornfields, and farm-houses. On 
the left, few marks of cultivation are to be seen. 

"Farther on, the traveler passes along the verge of 
the lake under a ledge of rock, from thirty to fifty feet 
high; and, standing immediately under this rock, 
towards its western extremity, he has a double echo of 
uncommon distinctness. Upon pronouncing, with a 
firm voice, a line of ten syllables, it is returned, first 
from the opposite side of the lake ; and when that is fin- 
ished, it is repeated with equal distinctness from the 
wood on the east. The day must be perfectly calm, 
and the lake as smooth as glass, for otherwise no human 
voice can be returned from a distance of at least a quar- 
ter of a mile." — Graham's Sketches of Perthshire, 2d 
edit, p. 182, etc. 

* MS. : "Fresh vigor with the thought returned, 
With flying hoof the heath he spurn'd." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 25 

VI. 

'Twere long- to tell what steeds gave o'er, 
As swept the haunt through Cambusmore ;* 
What reins were tighten'd in despair, 
When rose Benledi's ridge in air;f 
Who flagged upon Bochastle's heath, 
Who shunn'd to stem the flooded Teith — J 
For twice that day, from shore to shore, 
The gallant stag swam stoutly o'er. 
Few were the stragglers, following far, 
That reached the lake of Vennachar;§ 
And when the Brigg of Turk was won, |] 
The headmost horseman rode alone. 

* Cambusmore, within about two miles of Callander, 
on the wooded banks of the Keltie, a tributary of the 
Teith, is the seat of a family of the name of Buchanan, 
whom the poet frequently visited in his younger days. 

f Benledi is a magnificent mountain, three thousand 
and nine feet in height, which bounds the horizon on 
the northwest from Callander. The name, according 
to Celtic etymologists, signifies the Mountain of God. 

% Two mountain streams — the one flowing from Loch 
Voil, by the pass of Leny ; the other from Loch Katrine, 
by Loch Achray and Loch Vennachar, unite at Callan- 
der: and the river thus formed thenceforth takes the 
name of Teith. Hence the designation of the territory 
of Menteith. 

§ "Loch Vennachar, a beautiful expanse of water, of 
about five miles in length, by a mile and a half in 
breadth. " — Graham. 

|| "About a mile above Loch Vennachar, the approach 
(from the east), to the Brigg or Bridge of Turk (the scene 
of the death of a wild-boar, famous in Celtic tradition), 
leads to the summit of an eminence, where there bursts 
upon the traveler's eye a sudden and wide prospect of 
the windings of the river that issues from Loch Achray, 
with that sweet lake itself in front ; the gently rolling 



26 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

VII. 

Alone, but with unbated zeal, 
That horseman plied the scourge and steel ; 
For jaded now, and spent with toil, 
Emboss'd with foam, and dark with soil, 
While every gasp with sobs he drew, 
The laboring stag strain'd full in view. 
Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed, 
Unmatch'd for courage, breath, and speed,* 



river pursues its serpentine course through an extensive 
meadow; at the west end of the lake on the side of 
Aberfoyle is situated the delightful farm of Achray, the 
level field, a denomination justly due to it, when consid- 
ered in contrast with the rugged rocks and mountains 
which surround it. From this eminence are to be seen 
also, on the right hand, the entrance to Glenfinlas, and 
in the distance Ben venue." — Graham. 

* "The hounds which we call Saint Hubert's hounds 
are commmonly all blacke, yet, neuertheless, the race is 
so mingled at these days, that we find them of all 
colours. These are the hounds which the abbots of St. 
Hubert haue always kept some of their race or kind in 
honour or remembrance of the saint, which was a 
hunter with S. Eustace. Whereupon we may conceiue 
that (by the grace of God) all good huntsmen shall fol- 
low them into paradise. To return vnto my former 
purpose, this kind of dogges hath bene dispersed 
through the counties of Henault, Loryne, Flanders, and 
Burgoyne. They are mighty of body, neuertheless 
their legges are low and short, likewise they are not 
swift, although they be very good of sent, hunting 
chaces which are farre straggled, fearing neither water 
nor cold, and doe more couet the chaces that smell, as 
foxes, bore, and such like, than other, because they 
find themselves neither of swiftness nor courage to 
hunt and kill the chaces that are lighter and swifter. 
The bloodhounds of this colour proue good, especially 
those that are cole blacke, but I made no great account 
to breed on them, or to keepe the kind, and yet I found 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 2T 

Fast on his flying traces came, 

And all but won that desperate game ; 

For, scarce a spear's length from his haunch 

Vindictive toil'd the bloodhounds staunch; 

Nor nearer might the dogs attain, 

Nor farther might the quarry strain, 

Thus up the margin of the lake, 

Between the precipice and brake, 

O'er stock and rock their race they take. 

VIII. 

The Hunter mark'd that mountain high, 
The lone lake's western boundary, 
And deem'd the stag must turn to bay, 
Where that huge rampart barr'd the way; 
Already glorying in the prize, 
Measured his antlers with his eyes; 
For the death-wound and death-halloo, 
Muster'd his breath, and whinyard drew; — * 

a book which a hunter did dedicate to a prince of 
Lorayne, which seemed to loue hunting much, wherein 
was a blason which the same hunter gaue to his blood- 
hound, called Souyllard, which was white: — 

"My name came first from holy Hubert's race, 
Souyllard my sire, a hound of singular grace. 

Whereupon we may presume that some of the kind 
proue white sometimes, but they are not of the kind of 
the Greffiers or Bouxes, which we haue at these days." 
— The noble art of Venerie or Hunting, translated and 
collected for the Use of all Noblemen and Gentlemen. 
Lond. 1611, 4to, p. 15. 

*When the stag turned to bay, the ancient hunter 
had the perilous task of going in upon and killing or 
disabling the desperate animal. At certain times of 
the year this was held particularly dangerous, a wound 



28 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

But thundering as he came prepared, 
With ready arm and weapon bared, 



received from a stag's horn being then deemed poison- 
ous, and more dangerous than one from the tusk of a 
boar, as the old rhyme testifies: — 

"If thou be hurt with hart, it brings thee to thy bier, 
But barber's hand will boar's hurt heal, therefore 
thou need'st not fear." 

At all times, however, the task was dangerous, and to 
be adventured upon wisely and warily, either by get- 
ting behind the stag while he was gazing on the hounds, 
or by watching an opportunity to gallop roundly in upon 
him, and kill him with the sword. See many directions 
to this purpose in the Booke of Hunting, chap. 41. Wil- 
son, the historian, has recorded a most providential 
escape which befell him in this hazardous sport, while 
a youth and follower of the Earl of Essex. 

"Sir Peter Lee, of Lime, in Cheshire, invited my lord 
one summer to hunt the stagg. And having a great 
stagg in chace, and many gentlemen in the pursuit, the 
stagg took soyle. And divers, whereof I was one, 
alighted, and stood with swords drawne, to have a cut 
at him at his coming out of the water. The staggs 
there being wonderfully fierce and dangerous, made us 
youths more eager to be at him. But he escaped us all. 
And it was my misfortune to be hindered of my coming 
nere him, the way being sliperie, by afalle: which gave 
occasion to some, who did not know mee, to speak as if 
I had fallne for feare. Which being told mee, I left 
the stagg, and followed the gentlemen who [first] spake 
it. But I found him of that cold temper, that it seems 
his words made an escape from him ; as by his denial 
and repentance it appeared. But this made mee more 
violent in the pursuit of the stagg, to recover my repu- 
tation. And I happened to be the only horseman in, 
when the dogs sett him up at bay; and approaching near 
him on horsebacke, he broke through the dogs, and run 
at mee, and tore my horse's side with his homes close 
by my thigh. Then I quitted my horse, and grew more 
cunning (for the dogs had sette him up again), stealing 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 29 

The wily quarry shunn'd the shock, 

And turn'd him from the opposing rock; 

Then, dashing down a darksome glen, 

Soon lost to hound and hunter's ken, 

In the deep Trosachs'* wildest nook 

His solitary refuge took. 

There, while close couch 'd, the thicket shed 

Cold dews and wild-flowers on his head, 

He heard the baffled dogs in vain 

Rave through the hollow pass amain, 

Chiding the rocks that yell'd again. 

IX. 

Close on the hounds the Hunter came, 
To cheer them on the vanished game ; 
But stumbling in the rugged dell, 
The gallant horse exhausted fell. 
The impatient rider strove in vain 
To rouse him with the spur and rein, 
For the good steed, his labors o'er, 
Stretch'd his stiff limbs, to rise no more; 
Then, touch'd with pity and remorse, 
He sorrow 'd o'er the expiring horse. 
44 1 little thought, when first thy rein 
I slack'd upon the banks of Seine, 
That Highland eagle e'er should feed 
On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed! 



behind him with my sword, and cut his ham-strings ; and 
then got upon his back and cut his throate: which, as I 
was doing, the company came in, and blamed my rash- 
ness for running such a hazard/* — Peck's Disiderata 
Curiosa, ii. 464. 

* The term Trosachs signifies the rough or bristled 
territory. ' ' — Graham. 



30 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

* 

Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, 
That costs thy life, my gallant gray!" 



Then through the dell his horn resounds, 
From vain pursuit to call the hounds. 
Back limp'd with slow and crippled pace, 
The sulky leaders of the chase; 
Close to their master's side they press'd, 
With drooping tail, and humbled crest ; 
But still the dingle's hollow throat 
Prolong'd the swelling bugle-note. 
The owlets started from their dream, 
The eagles answer'd with their scream, 
Round and around the sounds were cast, 
Till echo seem'd an answering blast; 
And on the Hunter hied his way,* 
To join some comrades of the day ; 
Yet often paused, so strange the road, 
So wondrous were the scenes it showed, 

XI. 

The western waves of ebbing day 
Roll'd o'er the glen their level way; 
Each purple peak, each flinty spire, 
Was bathed in floods of living fire. 
But not a setting beam could glow 
Within the dark ravines below, 
Where twined the path in shadow hid, 
Round many a rocky pyramid. 
Shooting abruptly from the dell 



* MS. : ''And on the hunter hied his pace, 

To meet some comrades of the chase. '* 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 31 

Its thunder-splinter'd pinnacle; 

Round many an insulated mass, 

The native bulwarks of the pass,* 

Huge as the tower which builders vain 

Presumptuous piled on Shinar's plain, f 

The rocky summits, split and rent, 

Form'd turret, dome, or battlement, 

Or seem'd fantastically set 

With cupola or minaret, 

Wild crests as pagod ever deck'd. 

Or mosque of Eastern architect. 

Nor were these earth-born castles bare, J 

Nor lack'd they many a banner fair; 

For, from their shiver* d brows displayed, 

Far, o'er the unfathomable glade, 

All twinkling with the dewdrop sheen, § 

The brier-rose fell in streamers green, 

And creeping shrubs, of thousand dyes, 

Waved in the west-wind's summer sighs. 

XII. 

Boon nature scatter'd free and wild, 
Each plant or flower, the mountain's child. 
Here eglantine embalm'd the air, 
Hawthorne and hazel mingled there; 
The primrose pale and violet flower, 
Found in each clift a narrow bower; 
Fox-glove and night-shade, side by side, 
Emblems of punishment and pride, 
Group'd their dark hues with every stain 



* MS. : "The mimic castles of the pass/' 

\ The Tower of Babel. — Genesis xi. 1-9. 

X MS. : "Nor were these mighty bulwarks bare." 

§ MS.: "Bright glistening with the dewdrop's sheen." 



82 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

The weather-beaten crags retain. 

With boughs that quaked at every breath, 

Gray birch and aspen — wept beneath ; 

Aloft, the ash and warrior oak 

Cast anchor in the rifted rock ; 

And, higher yet, the pine-tree hung 

His shatter'd trunk, and frequent flung,* 

Where seem'd the cliffs to meet on high, 

His boughs, athwart the narrow'd sky. 

Highest of all, where white peaks glanced 

Where glist'ning streamers waved and 

danced, 
The wanderer's eye could barely view 
The summer heaven's delicious blue; 
So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 
The scenery of a fairy dream. 

XIII. 

Onward, amid the copse 'gan peep 
A narrow inlet, still and deep, 
Affording scarce such breadth of brim, f 
As served the wild duck's brood to swim. 
Lost for a space, through thickets veering, 
But broader when again appearing, 
Tall rocks and tufted knolls their face 
Could on the dark-blue mirror trace ; 



* MS. : "His scathed trunk, and frequent flung, 
Where seem'd the cliffs to meet on high, 
His rugged arms athwart the sky. 
Highest of all, where white peaks glanced, 
Where twinkling streamers waved and 
danced." 

t MS. : "Affording scarce such breadth of flood, 

As served to float the wild-duck's brood." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 33 

And farther as the hunter stray'd, 
Still broader sweep its channels made. 
The shaggy mounds no longer stood, 
Emerging from entangled wood,* 
But, wave-encircled, seem'd to float, 
Like castle girdled with its moat ; 
Yet broader floods extending still 
Divide them from their parent hill, 
Till each, retiring, claims to be 
An islet in an inland sea. 



XIV. 

And now, to issue from the glen, 

No pathway meets the wander's ken, 

Unless he climb, with footing nice, 

A far-projecting precipice, f 

The broom's tough roots his ladder made, 

The hazel saplings lent their aid ; 

And thus an airy point he won, 

Where, gleaming with the setting sun, 

One burnished sheet of living gold, 

Loch Katrine lay beneath him roll' d, J 

In all her length far winding lay, 



* MS. : "Emerging dry-shod from the wood." 

f Until the present road was made through the roman- 
tic pass which I have presumptuously attempted to de- 
scribe in the preceding stanzas, there was no mode of 
issuing out of the defile called the Trosachs excepting 
by a sort of ladder, composed of the branches and roots 
of trees. 

X Loch-Ketturin is the Celtic pronunciation. In his 
Notes to "The Fair Maid of Perth," the author has 
signified his belief that the lake was named after the 
Catterans,or wild robbers, who haunted its shores. 

3 



34 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

With promontory, creek, and bay, 

And islands that, empurpled bright, 

Floated amid the livelier light, 

And mountains, that like giants stand, 

To sentinel enchanted land. 

High on the south, huge Benvenue * 

Down on the lake in masses threw 

Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurl'd 

The fragments of an earlier world; 

A wildering forest feathered o'er 

His ruin'd sides and summit hoar,f 

While on the north, through middle air, 

Ben-an J heaved high his forehead bare.§ 

xv. 

From the steep promontory gazed | 
The stranger, enraptured and amazed. 



* Benvenue is literally the little mountain — i. e., as 
contrasted with Benledi and Benlomond. 

f MS. : "His ruined sides and fragments hoar 
While on the north to middle air." 

X According to Graham, Ben-an, or Bennan, is a mere 
diminutive of Ben — Mountain. 

§ "Perhaps the art of landscape-painting in poetry 
has never been displayed in higher perfection than in 
these stanzas, to which rigid criticism might possibly 
object that the picture is somewhat too minute, and that 
the contemplation of it detains the traveler somewhat 
too long from the main purpose of his pilgrimage, but 
which it would be an act of the greatest injustice to 
break into fragments, and present by piece-meal. Not 
so the magnificent scene which bursts upon the be- 
wildered hunter as he emerges at length from the dell, 
and commands at one view the beautiful expanse of 
Loch Katrine." — Critical Review, August, 1820. 

j MS.: "From the high promontory gazed 

The stranger, awe-struck and amazed." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 35 

And, "What a scene were here," he cried, 

"For princely pomp, or churchman's pride! 

On this bold brow, a lordly tower ; 

In that soft vale, a lady's bower; 

On yonder meadow, far away, 

The turrets of a cloister gray; 

How blithely might the bugle-horn 

Chide, on the lake, the lingering morn ! 

How sweet, at eve, the lover's lute 

Chime, when the groves were still and mute! 

And, when the midnight moon should lave 

Her forehead in the silver wave, 

How solemn on the ear would come 

The holy matin's distant hum, 

While the deep peal's commanding tone 

Should wake, in yonder islet lone, 

A sainted hermit from his cell, 

To drop a bead with ever)?- knell — 

And bugle, lute, and bell, and all, 

Should each bewilder'd stranger call 

To friendly feast and lighted hall.* 

XVI. 

"Blithe were it then to wander here! 
But now, — beshrew yon nimble deer, — 
Like that same hermit's, thin and spare, 
The copse must give my evening fare; 
Some mossy bank my couch must be, 
Some rustling oak my canopy, f 
Yet pass we that; the war and chase 



* MS. : "To hospitable feast and hall." 
f MS. : "And hollow trunk of some old tree, 
My chamber for the night must be." 



38 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Give little choice of resting-place ; — 
A summer night, in greenwood spent, 
Were but to-morrow's merriment: 
But hosts may in these wilds abound, 
Such as are better missed than found; 
To meet with Highland plunderers here, 
Were worse than loss of steed or deer. — * 
I am alone ; — my bugle-strain 
May call some straggler of the train, 
Or, fall the worst that may betide, 
Ere now this falchion has been tried. " 



* The clans who inhabited the romantic regions in the 
neighborhood of Loch Katrine were, even until a late 
period, much addicted to predatory excursions upon 
their Lowland neighbors. "In former times, those 
parts of this district, which are situated beyond the 
Grampian range, were rendered almost inaccessible by 
strong barriers of rock, and mountains, and lakes. It 
was a border country, and though on the very verge of 
the low country, it was almost totally sequestered from 
the world, and, as it were, insullated with respect to 
society. 'Tis well known that in the Highlands it was, 
in former times, accounted not only lawful, but honor- 
able, among hostile tribes, to commit depradations on 
one another ; and these habits of the age were perhaps 
strengthened in this district by the circumstances which 
have been mentioned. It bordered on a country, the 
inhabitants of which, while, they were richer, were less 
warlike than they, and widely differed by language 
and manners. " — Graham's Sketches of Scenery in Perth- 
shire, Edin. 1806, p. 97. The reader will therefore be 
pleased to remember that the scene of this poem is laid 
in a time — 

"When tooming faulds or sweeping of a glen, 
Had still been held the deed of gallant men." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 37 

XVII. 

But scarce again his horn he wound,* 

When lo ! forth pealing at the sound. 

From underneath an aged oak, 

That slanted from the islet rock, 

A damsel guider of its way, 

A little skiff shot to the bay,f 

That round the promontory steep 

Led its deep line in graceful sweep, 

Eddying, in almost viewless wave, 

The weeping willow twig to lave, 

And kiss, with whispering sound and slow, 

The beach of pebbles bright as snow. 

The boat had touch'd this silver strand, 

Just as the Hunter left his stand, 

And stood conceal'd amid the brake, 

To view this Lady of the Lake. 

The maiden paused, as if again 

She thought to catch the distant strain. 

With head up-raised, and look intent, 

And eye and ear attentive bent, 

And locks flung back, and lips apart, 

Like monuments of Grecian art, 

In listening mood, she seem'd to stand 

The guardian Naiad of the strand. 



* MS. : "The bugle shrill again he wound, 

And lo ! forth starting at the sound." 

f MS. : "A little skiff shot to the bay, 

The Hunter left his airy stand. 
And when the boat had touch'd the sand, 
Conceal'd he stood amid the brake, 
To view this Lady of the Lake." 



88 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XVIII. 

And ne'er did Grecian chisel trace* 

A Nymph, a Naiad, or a Grace 

Of finer form, or lovelier face! 

What though the sun with ardent frown 

Had slightly tinged her cheek with brown, — 

The sportive toil, which, short and light, 

Had dyed her glowing hue so bright, 

Served too in hastier swell to show 

Short glimpses of a breast of snow : 

What though no rule of courtly grace 

To measured mood had train'dher pace, — 

A foot more light, a step more true, 

Ne'er from the heath-flower dash'd the dew^ 

E'en the slight harebell raised its head, 

Elastic from her airy tread: 

What though upon her speech there hung 

The accents of the mountain tongue, f 

Those silver sounds, so soft, so clear, 

The list'ner held his breath to hear! 

XIX. 

A Chieftain's daughter seem'd the maid; 
Her satin snood, J her silken plaid, 
Her golden brooch, such birth betray'd. 
And seldom was a snood amid 
Such wild luxuriant ringlets hid, 
Whose glossy black to shame might bring 
The plumage of the raven's wing; 



* MS. : "A finer form, a fairer face. 

Had never marble Nymph or Grace, 
That boasts the Grecian chisel's trace." 
t MS. : "The accents of a stranger tongue.'' 
X See Note post, on Canto III. stanza 5. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 39 

And seldom o'er a breast so fair, 
Mantled a plaid with modest care, 
And never brooch the folds combined 
Above a heart more good and kind. 
Her kindness and her worth to spy, 
You need but gaze on Ellen's eye: 
Not Katrine, in her mirror blue, 
Gives back the shaggy banks more true, 
Than every free-born glance confess'd 
The guileless movements of her breast ; 
Whether joy danced in her dark eye, 
Or woe or pity claim'd a sigh, 
Or filial love was glowing there, 
Or meek devotion poured a prayer, 
Or tale of injury called forth 
The indignant spirit of the North. 
One only passion unreveal'd, 
With maiden pride the maid conceal'd, 
Yet not less purely felt the flame ;-^- 
O need I tell that passion's name! 

xx. 

Impatient of the silent horn, 
Now on the gale her voice was borne : — 
4 k Father !" she cried; the rocks around 
Loved to prolong the gentle sound. 
A while she paused, no answer came,* 

* MS. • "A space she paused, no answer came, — 
'Alpine, was thine the blast?' the name 
Less resolutely utter' d fell, 
The echoes could not catch the swell. 
'Nor foe nor friend,' the stranger said, 
Advancing from the hazel shade. 
The startled maid, with hasty oar, 
Push'd her light shallop from the shore." 



40 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

" Malcolm, was thine the blast?'* the name 
Less resolutely utter'dfell, 
The echoes could not catch the swell. 
"A stranger I," the Huntsman said, 
Advancing from the hazel shade. 
The maid, alarmed, with hasty oar 
Pushed her light shallop from the shore, 
And when a space was gained between, 
Closer she drew her bosom's screen; 
(So forth the startled swan would swing,* 
So turn to prune his ruffled wing), 
Then safe, though flutter'd and amazed, 
She paused, and on the stranger gazed. 
Not his the form, nor his the eye, 
That youthful maidens wont to fly. 

XXI. 

On his bold visage middle age 

Had slightly press' d its signet sage, 

Yet had not quench'd the open truth 

And fiery vehemence of youth ; 

Forward and frolic, glee was there, 

The will to do, the soul to dare, 

The sparkling glance, soon blown to fire, 

Of hasty love, or headlong ire. 

His limbs were cast in manly mould, 

For hardy sports or contest bold; 

And though in peaceful garb array'd, 

And weaponless, except his blade, 

His stately mien as well implied 

A high-born heart, a martial pride, 



* MS. : "So o'er the lake the swan would spring, 
Then turn to prune its ruffled wing." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 41 

As if a Baron's crest he wore, 

And sheathed in armor trode the shore, 

Slighting the petty need he show'd 

He told of his benighted road ; 

His ready speech flow'd fair and free, 

In phrase of gentlest courtesy; 

Yet seem'd that tone, and gesture bland, 

Less used to sue than to command. 

XXII. 

A while the maid the stranger eyed, 
And, reassured, at length replied, 
That Highland halls are open still * 
To wilder'd wanderers of the hill. 
4 'Nor think you unexpected come 
To yon lone isle, or desert home; 
Before the heath had lost the dew, 
This morn, a couch was pull'd for you; 
On yonder mountain's purple head 
Have ptarmigan and heath-cock bled, 
And our broad nets have swept the mere, 
To furnish forth your evening cheer. " 
4 'Now, by the rood, my lovely maid, 
Your courtesy has err'd, " he said; 
"No right have I to claim, misplaced, 
The welcome of expected guest. 
A wanderer here by fortune tost, 
My way, my friends, my courser lost, 
I ne'er before, believe me, fair, 
Have ever drawn your mountain air, 
Till on this lake's romantic strand,f 
I found a fay in fairy land!" 



* MS. : "Her father's hall was open still. " 

| MS. : "Till on the lake's enchanting strand." 



42 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXIII. 

44 1 well believe," the maid replied, 

As her light skiff approached the side, — 

44 1 well believe that ne'er before 

Your foot has trod Loch Katrine's shore; 

But yet, as far as yesternight, 

Old Allan- Bane foretold your plight, — 

A gray-haired sire, whose eye intent 

Was on the visioned future bent.* 

He saw your steed, a dappled gray, 

Lie dead beneath the birchen way; 

Painted exact your form and mien, 

Your hunting-suit of Lincoln green, 

That tassell'd horn so gayly gilt, 

That falchion's crooked blade and hilt, 

That cap with heron plumage trim, 

And 3^on two hounds so dark and grim. 

He bade that all should ready be, 

To grace a guest of fair degree ; 

But light I held his prophecy, 

And deem'd it was my father's horn, 

Whose echoes o'er the lake were borne/' 

xxiv. 

The stranger smiled; 4 ' Since to your home 
A destined errant-knight I come, 
Announced by prophet sooth and old, 
Doom'd, doubtless, for achievement bold, 
I'll lightly front each high emprise, 
For one kind glance of those bright eyes. 

* MS.: "Is often on the future bent.' 1 
See Appendix, Note A. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 43 

Permit me, first, the task to guide 

Your fairy frigate o'er the tide." 

The maid, with smile suppress'd and sly, 

The toil unwonted saw him try; 

For seldom sure, if e'er before, 

His noble hand had grasp'd an oar; * 

Yet with main strength his strokes he drew, 

And o'er the lake the shallop flew; 

With heads erect, and whimpering cry, 

The hounds behind their passage ply. 

Nor frequent does the bright oar break 

The dark'ning mirror of the lake, 

Until the rocky isle they reach,' 

And moor their shallop on the beach. 

xxv. 

The stranger view'd the shore around; 
'Twas all so close with copsewood bound. 
Nor track nor pathway might declare 
That human foot frequented there, 
Until the mountain-maiden showed 
A clambering, unsuspected road, 
That winded through the tangled screen, 
And open'd on a narrow green, 
Where weeping birch and willow round 
With their long fibers swept the ground. 
Here, for retreat, in dangerous hour, 
Some chief had framed a rustic bower. f 

* MS. : ''This gentle hand had grasped an oar, 

Yet with main strength the oars he drew." 

f The Celtic chieftains, whose lives were continually 
exposed to peril, had usually in the most retired spot of 
their domains, some place of retreat for the hour of 



44 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXVI. 

It was a lodge of ample size. 
But strange of structure and device; 
Of such materials as around 
The workman's hand had readies: found. 
Lopp'd of their boughs, their hoar trunks 
bured. 



necessity, wmcn, as circumstances would acmit, was a 
tower, a cavern, or a rustic hut. in a strong and secluded 
situation. Ocr of these last gave refuge :: the unfortu- 
nate Charles Edward, in his perilous wanderings after 
the battle of Culloden. 

"It was situated in the face of a very rough, high. 
and rocky mountain, called Lettermlichk. still "a part o: 
Benalder, full of great stores and crevices, ar.f s:nie 
scattered wood interspersed. The habitation called the 
Cage, in the face of :ha: mountain, was within a small 
thick bush :i wood. There were hrst some rows of 
trees laid down, in order to level the floor for a habita- 
tion : and as the place was steep, this raised the lower 
side to an equal height with the other; and these trees, 
in the way of ;oists or marks, were leveled with earth 
and gravel. There were betwixt the trees ^rowing 
naturally on their own r rots, some stakes r.xed in the 
earth, which, with the trees, were interwoven with 
ropes, made of heath and birch twigs, up to the toy f 
the Cage, it being :: a round : rather oval shape : 
the whole thatched and covered over'.-.::: fog. The 
whole fabric hung, as it were, : a logo tree 
reclined from the one end, all along the roof, to the 
other, and which gave it the name of the Cage; and by 
chance there happened to be two stores at a small dis- 
tance from one another, in the side next the precipice, 
rr-embling the pillars of a chimney, where the nre was 

e 1 The smoke had its vent out here, all along the 
fall ot the rock, which was s: much of the same color 
that one could discover no difference in the clearest 

" — Home's His:: ry of the Rebellion. Lond. 1802, 

•; 381. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 45 

And by the hatchet rudely squared, 

To give the walls their destined height, 

The sturdy oak and ash unite ; 

While moss and clay and leaves combined 

To fence each crevice from the wind. 

The lighter pine-trees, overhead, 

Their slender length for rafters spread, 

And wither'd heath and rushes dry 

Supplied a russet canopy. 

Due westward, fronting to the green, 

A rural portico was seen, 

Aloft on native pillars borne, 

Of mountain fir with bark unshorn, 

Where Ellen's hand had taught to twine 

The ivy and Idsean vine, 

The clematis, the favor 'd flower 

Which boasts the name of virgin-bower, 

And every hardy plant could bear 

Loch Katrine's keen and searching air. 

An instant in this porch she stayed, 

And gayly to the stranger said, 

"On heaven and on thy lady call, 

And enter the enchanted hall!" 

XXVII. 

"My hope, my heaven, my trust must be, 

My gentle guide, in following thee." 

He cross'd the threshold — and a clang 

Of angry steel that instant rang. 

To his bold brow his spirit rush'd, 

But soon for vain alarm he blush 'd, 

When on the floor he saw display 'd 

Cause of the din, a naked blade 

Dropp'd from the sheath, that careless flung 



46 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Upon a stag's huge antlers swung; 
For all around, the walls to grace, 
Hung trophies of the fight or chase ; 
A target there, a bugle here, 
A battle-axe, a hunting spear, 
And broadswords, bows, and arrows store, 
With the tusk'd trophies of the boar. 
Here grins the wolf as when he died,* 
And there the wild-cat's brindled hide 
The frontlet of the elk adorns, 
Or mantles o'er the bison's horns; 
Pennons and flags defaced and stain'd, 
That blackening streaks of blood retain'd, 
And deer-skins, dappled, dun, and white, 
With otter's furs and seal's unite, 
In rude and uncouth tapestry all, 
To garnish forth the sylvan hall. 

XXVIII. 

The wandering stranger round him gazed, 

And next the fallen weapon raised : — 

Few were the arms whose sinewy strength 

Sufficed to stretch it forth at length, 

And as the brand he poised and sway'd, 

"I never knew but one," he said, 

4 'Whose stalwart arm might brook to wield 

A blade like this in battle-field." 

She sigh'd, then smiled, and took the word; 

4 'You see the guardian champion's sword; 

As light it trembles in his hand, 

* MS. : "Here grins the wolf as when he died, 

There hung the wild-cat's brindled hide, 
Above the elk's branch 'd brow and skull, 
And frontlet of the forest bull." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 47 

As in my grasp a hazel wand ; 

My sire's tall form might grace the part 

Of Ferragus, or Ascabart ;* 

But in the absent giant's hold 

Are women now, and menials old. M 

XXIX. 

The mistress of the mansion came, 

Mature of age, a graceful dame; 

Whose easy step and stately port 

Had well become a princely court, 

To whom, though more than kindred knew, 

Young Ellen gave a mother's due.f 

Meet welcome to her guest she made, 

And every courteous rite was paid, 

That hospitalityj could claim, 

Though all unask'd his birth and name. 

Such then the reverence of a guest, 

That fellest foe might join the feast, 

And from his deadliest foeman's door 

Unquestion'd turn, the banquet o'er, 

At length his rank the stranger names, 

"The Knight of Snowdoun, James Fitz-James; 

Lord of a barren heritage, 

* See Appendix, Note B. 

f MS. : "To whom, though more remote her claim, 
Young Ellen gave a mother's name." 

JThe Highlanders, who carried hospitality to a punc- 
tilious excess, are said to have considered it churlish to 
ask a stranger his name or lineage before he had taken 
refreshment. Feuds were so frequent among them, 
that a contrary rule would in many cases have produced 
the discovery of some circumstance, which might have 
excluded the guest from the benefit of the assistance 
he stood in need of. 



48 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Which his brave sires, from age to age, 
By their good swords had held with toil; 
His sire had fall'n in such turmoil, 
And he, God wot, was forced to stand 
Out for his right with blade in hand. 
This morning with Lord Moray's train 
He chased a stalwart stag in vain. 
Outstripp'd his comrades, miss'd the deer, 
Lost his good steed, and wander'd here/' 

XXX. 

Fain would the Knight in turn require 
The name and state of Ellen's sire. 
Well show'd the elder lady's mien, 1 ' 
That courts and cities she had seen ; 
Ellen, though more her looks display'df 
The simple grace of sylvan maid, 
In speech and gesture, form and face, 
Show'd she was come of gentle race. 
'Twere strange in ruder rank to find 
Such looks, such manners, and such mind. 
Each hint the Knight of Snowdoun gave, 
Dame Margaret heard with silence grave; 
Or Ellen, innocently gay, 
Turn'd all inquiry light away: — 
"Weird women we! by dale and down 

*MS. : "Well show'd the mother's easy mien." 

fMS. : "Ellen, though more her looks betray 'd 
The simple heart of mountain maid, 
In speech and gesture, form and grace, 
Show'd she was come of gentle race ; 
'Twas strange, in birth so rude, to find 
Such face, such manners, and such mind, 
Each anxious hint the stranger gave, 
The mother heard with silence grave." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 49 

We dwell, afar from tower and town. 
We stem the flood, we ride the blast, 
On wandering knights our spells we cast ; 
While viewless minstrels touch the string, 
'Tis thus our charmed rhymes we sing." 
She sung, and still a harp unseen 
Fiird up the symphony between.* 

*" 'They [meaning the Highlanders] delight much in 
musicke, but chiefly in harps and clairschoes of their 
own fashion. The strings of the clairschoes are made 
of brass wire, and the strings of the harps of sinews; 
which strings they strike either with their nayles, grow- 
ing long, or else with an instrument appointed for that 
use. They take pleasure to decke their harps and clair- 
schoes with silver and precious stones ; the poor ones 
that cannot attayne hereunto, decke them with christall. 
They sing verses prettily compound, contayning (for 
the most part) prayses of valiant men. There is not 
almost any other argument, whereof their rhymes in- 
treat. They speak the ancient French language altered 
a little.' The harp and the clairschoes are now only 
heard in the Highlands in ancient song. At what period 
these instruments ceased to be used is not on record ; 
and tradition is silent on this head. But, as Irish harp- 
ers occasionally visited the Highlands and Western 
Isles until lately, the harp might have been extant so 
late as the middle of the present century. Thus far we 
know, that from remote times down to the present, 
harpers were received as welcome guests, particularly 
in the Highlands of Scotland ; and so late as the latter 
end of the sixteenth century, as appears by the above 
quotation, the harp was in common use among the na- 
tives of the Western Isles. How it happened that the 
noisy and unharmonious bagpipe banished the soft and 
expressive harp we cannot say; but certain it is, that 
the bagpipe is now the only instrument that obtains uni- 
versally in the Highland districts. " — Campbell's Journey 
through North Briton. Lond., 1808, 4to, L, 175. 

Mr. Gunn, of Edinburgh, has lately published a curi- 
ous Essay upon the Harp and Harp Music of the High- 

4 



50 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXXI. 
SONG. 

44 Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er, 

Sleep the sleep that knows no breaking; 
Dream of battled fields no more, 

Days of danger, nights of waking. 
In our isle's enchanted hall, 

Hands unseen thy couch are strewing, 
Fairy strains of music fall, 

Every sense in slumber dewing. 
Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er, 
Dream of fighting fields no more ; 
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, 
Morn of toil, nor night of waking. 

"No rude sound shall reach thine ear,* 

Armor's clang, or war-steed champing, 
Trump nor pibroch summon here 

Mustering clan, or squadron tramping. 
Yet the lark's shrill fife may come, 

At the daybreak from the fallow, 
And the bittern sound his drum, 

Booming from the sedgy shallow. 
Ruder sounds shall none be near, 
Guards nor warders challenge here, 

lands of Scotland. That the instrument was once in 
common use there is most certain. Cleland numbers an 
acquaintance with it among the few accomplishments 
which his satire allows to the Highlanders : — 
"In nothing they're accounted sharp, 
Except in bagpipe or m harp." 

*MS. : "Noon of hunger, night of waking. 

No rude sound shall rouse thine ear." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 51 

Here's no war-steed's neigh and champing, 
Shouting clans, or squadrons stamping." 

XXXII. 

She paused — then, blushing, led the lay* 
To grace the stranger of the day. 
Her mellow notes awhile prolong 
The cadence of the flowing song, 
Till to her lips in measured frame 
The minstrel verse spontaneous came. 

SONG CONTINUED. 

44 Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done, 

While our slumbrous spells assail ye.f 
Dream not, with the rising sun 

Bugles here shall sound reveille. 
Sleep! the deer is in his den; 

Sleep ! thy hounds are by thee lying ; 
Sleep ! nor dream in yonder glen, 

How thy gallant steed lay dying. 
Huntsman, rest ; thy chase is done ; 
Think not of the rising sun, 
For at dawning to assail ye, 
Here no bugles sound reveille. " 

XXXIII. 

The hall was clear'd — the stranger's bed 
Was there of mountain heather spread, 
Where oft a hundred guests had lain, 
And dream'd their forest sports again. J 

*MS. : "She paused — but waked again the lay." 
fMS. : "Slumber sweet our spells shall deal ye, 

Let our slumbrous spells j begml^ye." 
{MS. : "And dream'd their mountain chase again.' ' 



52 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

But vainly did the heath-flower shed 

Its moorland fragrance round his head ; 

Not Ellen's spell had lull'd to rest 

The fever of his troubled breast. 

In broken dreams the image rose 

Of varied perils, pains and woes; 

His steed now flounders in the brake, 

Now sinks his barge upon the lake; 

Now leader of a broken host, 

His standard falls, his honor's lost, 

Then, — from my couch may heavenly might 

Chase that worst phantom of the night! — 

Again return 'd the scenes of youth, 

Of confident undoubting truth ; 

Again his soul he interchanged 

With friends whose hearts were long estranged. 

They come, in dim procession led, 

The cold, the faithless, and the dead; 

As warm each hand, each brow as gay, 

As if they parted yesterday. 

And doubt distracts him at the view, — 

O were his senses false or true ! 

Dream'd he of death, or broken vow, 

Or is it all a vision now !* 



" Ye guardian spirits, to whom man is dear, 

From these foul demons shield the midnight 
gloom : 
Angels of fancy and of love, be near, 

And o'er the blank of sleep diffuse a bloom. 
Evoke the sacred shades of Greece and Rome, 

And let them virtue with a look impart; 
But chief, awhile, O ! lend us from the tomb 

Those long-lost friends for whom in love we smart, 
And fill with pious awe and joy-mixt woe the heart. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 53 

XXXIV. 

At length, with Ellen in a grove 

He seem'd to walk, and speak of love; 

She listened with a blush and sigh, 

His suit was warm, his hopes were high. 

He sought her yielded hand to clasp, 

And a cold gauntlet met his grasp : 

The phantom's sex was changed and gone, 

Upon its head a helmet shone; 

Slowly enlarged to giant size, 

With darkened cheek and threatening eyes, 

The grisly visage, stern and hoar, 

To Ellen still a likeness bore. — 

He woke, and, panting with afright, 

Recaird the vision of the night.* 

The hearth's decaying brands were red, 

And deep and dusky lustre shed, 

Half-showing, half-concealing, all 

The uncouth trophies of the hall. 

Mid those the stranger fix'd his eye. 

Where that huge falchion hung on high, 



" Or are you sportive? — bid the morn of youth 

Rise to new light, and beam afresh the days 
Of innocence, simplicity and truth ; 

To cares estranged, and manhood's thorny ways, 
What transport to retrace our boyish plays, 

Our easy bliss, when each thing joy supplied; 
The woods, the mountains, and the warbling maze 

Of the wild brooks !" — Castle of Indolence, Canto I. 

*"Such a strange and romantic dream as may be 
naturally expected to flow from the extraordinary events 
of the past day. It might, perhaps, be quoted as one of 
Mr. Scott's most successful efforts in descriptive poetry. 
Some few lines of it are indeed unrivaled for delicacy 
and melancholy tenderness." — Critical Review. 



54 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And thoughts on thoughts, a countless throng 
Rush'd, chasing countless thoughts along, 
Until, the giddy whirl to cure, 
He rose, and sought the moonshine pure. 

XXXV. 

The wild-rose, eglantine, and broom, 
Wasted around their rich perfume :* 
The birch-trees wept in fragrant balm, 
The aspens slept beneath the calm ; 
The silver light, with quivering glance, 
Play'd on the water's still expanse, — 
Wild were the heart whose passions' sway 
Could rage beneath the sober ray! 
He felt its calm, that warrior guest, 
While thus he communed with his breast : — 
4 'Why is it, at each turn I trace 
Some memory of that exil'd race? 
Can I not mountain maiden spy, 
But she must bear the Douglas eye? 
Can I not view a Highland brand, 
But it must match the Douglas hand? 
Can I not frame a fever'd dream, 
But still the Douglas is the theme? 
I'll dream no more — by manly mind 
Not even in sleep is will resign 'd. 

*twtq . «.-Dio,r^ ^ ( the bosom of the lake, 

*MS. : Played on } Loch Katrine * s stm expanse ; 

The birch, the wild-rose, and the broom, 

Wasted around their rich perfume. . . . 

The birch-trees wept in balmy due ; 

The aspen slept on Benvenue ; 

Wild were the heart whose passions' power 

Defied the influence of the hour." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 55 

My midnight orisons said o'er, 

I'll turn to rest, and dream no more." 

His midnight orisons he told, 

A prayer with every bead of gold, 

Consigned to heaven his cares and woes, 

And sunk in undisturb'd repose; 

Until the heath-cock, shrilly crew, 

And morning dawn'd on Benvenue. 



CANTO SECOND. 

THE ISLAND. 



At morn the black-cock trims his jetty wing, 
"Pis morning prompts the linnet's blithest 
lay, 
All Nature's children feel the matin spring 

Of life reviving, with reviving day ; 
And while yon little bark glides down the bay, 

Wafting the stranger on his way again, 
Morn's genial influence roused a minstrel gray, 
And sweetly o'er the lake was heard the 
strain, 
Mix'd with the sounding harp, O white-hair'd 
Allan- Bane!* 



*That Highland chieftains, to a late period, retained 
in their service the bard, as a family officer, admits of 
very easy proof. The author of the Letters from the 
North of Scotland, an officer of engineers, quartered 
at Inverness about 1720, who certainly cannot be 
deemed a favorable witness, gives the following account 
of the office, and of a bard whom he heard exercise his 
talent of recitation: "The bard is skilled in the geneal- 
ogy of all the Highland families, sometimes preceptor to 
the young laird, celebrates in Irish verse the original of 
the tribe, the famous warlike actions of the successive 
heads, and sings his own ly ricks as an opiate to the 
chief, when indisposed for sleep; but poets are not 
equally esteemed and honored in all countries. I hap- 
pened to be a witness of the dishonor done to the muse, 

56 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 57 

II. 

SONG. 

Not faster yonder rowers' might 
Flings from their oars the spray, 

Not faster yonder rippling bright 

That tracks the shallop's course in light, 
Melts in the lake away, 

Than men from memory erase 

The benefits of former days; 

Then, stranger, go! good speed the while, 

Nor think again of the lonely isle. 

High place to thee in royal court, 

High place in battle line, 
Good hawk and hound for sylvan sport, 



at the house of one of the chiefs, where two of these 
bards were set at a good distance, at the lower end of a 
long table, with a parcel of Highlanders of no extraor- 
dinary appearance, over a cup of ale. Poor inspiration ! 
They were not asked to drink a glass of wine at our 
table, though the whole company consisted only of the 
great man, one of his near relations, and myself. After 
some little time, the chief ordered one of them to sing 
me a Highland song. The bard readily obeyed, and 
with a hoarse voice, and in a tune of few various notes, 
began, as I was told, one of his own lyricks ; and when 
he had proceeded to the fourth or fifth stanza, I per- 
ceived, by the names of several persons, glens, and 
mountains, which I had known or heard of before, that 
it was an account of some clan battle. But in his going 
on, the chief (who piques himself upon his school-learn- 
ing), at some particular passage, bid him cease, and 
cried out, 'There's nothing like that in Virgil or Homer/ 
I bowed and told him I believed so. This you may- 
believe was very edifying and delightful." — Letters, ii. 
167. 



58 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Where beauty, sees the brave resort,* 

The honor'd meed be thine! 
True be thy sword, thy friend sincere, 
Thy lady constant, kind, and dear, 
And lost in love and friendship's smile 
Be memory of the lonely isle. 

in. 

SONG CONTINUED. 

44 But if beneath yon southern sky 

A plaided stranger roam, 
Whose drooping crest and stifled sigh, 
And sunken cheek and heavy eye, 

Pine for his Highland home; 
Then, warrior, then be thine to show 
The care that soothes a wanderer's woe; 
Remember then thy hap ere while, 
A stranger in the lonely isle. 

* 4 Or if on life's uncertain main 

Mishap shall mar thy sail; 
If faithful, wise, and brave in vain, 
Woe, want, and exile thou sustain 

Beneath the fickle gale: 
Waste not a sigh on fortune changed, 
On thankless courts, or friends estranged, 
But come where kindred worth shall smile, 
To greet thee in the lonely isle. " 

IV. 

As died the sounds upon the tide, 
The shallop reach'd the mainland side, 

*MS. : "At tourneys where the brave resort." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 59 

And ere his onward way he took, 

The stranger cast a lingering look, 

Where easily his eye might reach 

The harper on the islet beach, 

Reclined against a blighted tree, 

As wasted, gray, and worn as he. 

To minstrel meditation given, 

His reverend brow was raised to heaven, 

As from the rising sun to claim 

A sparkle of inspiring flame. 

His hand reclined upon the wire, 

Seem'd watching the aw T akening fire; 

So still he sate, as those who wait 

Till judgment speak the doom of fate; 

So still, as if no breeze might dare 

To lift one lock of hoary hair; 

So still, as life itself were fled, 

In the last sound his harp had sped. 



Upon a rock with lichens wild, 
Beside him Ellen sate and smiled, — 
Smiled she to see the stately drake 
Lead forth his fleet upon the lake, 
While her vexed spaniel, from the beach, 
Bay'd at the prize beyond his reach? 
Yet tell me, then, the maid who knows, 
Why deepen'd on her cheek the rose? 
Forgive, forgive, Fidelity! 
Perchance the maiden smiled to see 
Yon parting lingerer wave adieu, 
And stop and turn to wave anew ; 



60 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And, lovely ladies, ere your ire 
Condemn the heroine of my lyre, 
Show me the fair would scorn to spy, 
And prize such conquest of her eye ! 

VI. 

While yet he loiter'd on the spot, 
It seem'd as Ellen mark'd him not; 
But when he turn'd him to the glade, 
One courteous parting sign she made ; 
And after, oft the knight would say, 
That not when prize of festal day 
Was dealt him by the brightest fair, 
Whoe'er wore jewel in her hair, 
So highly did his bosom swell, 
As at that simple mute farewell. 
Now with a trusty mountain-guide, 
And his dark stag-hounds by his side, 
He parts — the maid unconscious still, 
Watch'd him wind slowly round the hill; 
But when his stately form was hid, 
The guardian in her bosom chid — 
"Thy Malcolm! vain and selfish maid!" 
'Twas thus upbraiding conscience said, — 
"Not so had Malcolm idly hung 
On the smooth phrase of southern tongue ; 
Not so had Malcolm strain'd his eye, 
Another step than thine to spy.* 
Wake, Allan-Bane," aloud she cried, 
To the old minstrel by her side, — 
"Arouse thee from thy moody dream! 
I'll give thy harp heroic theme, 
And warm thee with a noble name; 



*MS. : "The loveliest Lowland fair to spy." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 61 

Pour forth the glory of the Graeme !"* 
Scarce from her lips the word had rush'd, 
When deep the conscious maiden blush'd : 
For of his clan, in hall and bower, 
Young Malcolm Graeme was held the flower. 

VII. 

The minstrel waked his harp — three times 

Arose the well-known martial chimes, 

And thrice their high heroic pride 

In melancholy murmurs died. 

44 Vainly thou bid'st, O noble maid," 

Clasping his wither'd hands, he said, 

4 'Vainly thou bid'st me wake the strain, 

Though all unwont to bid in vain. 

Alas! than mine a mightier hand 

Has tuned my harp, my strings has spann'd! 

I touch the cords of joy, but low 



*The ancient and powerful family of Graham (which, 
for metrical reasons, is here spelt after the Scottish pro- 
nunciation) held extensive possessions in the counties of 
Dumbarton and Stirling. Few families can boast of 
more historical renown, having claim to three of the 
most remarkable characters in the Scottish annals. Sir 
John the Graeme, the faithful and undaunted partaker 
of the labors and patriotic warfare of Wallace, fell in 
the unfortunate field of Falkirk, in 1298. The celebrated 
Marquis of Montrose, in whom De Retz saw realized his 
abstract idea of the heroes of antiquity was the second, 
of these worthies. And, notwithstanding the severity 
of his temper, and the rigor with which he executed the 
oppressive mandates of the princes whom he served, I 
do not hesitate to name as a third, John Graeme, of 
Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, whose heroic death, 
in the arms of victory, may be allowed to cancel the 
memory of his cruelty to the non-conformists, during 
the reigns of Charles II. and James II. 



62 THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 

And mournful answer notes of woe; 

And the proud march, which victors tread. 

Sinks in the wailing for the dead. 

O well for me, if mine alone 

That dirge's deep prophetic tone! 

If, as my tuneful fathers said, 

This harp, which erst Saint Modan sway'd,* 

*I am not prepared to show that Saint Modan was a 
performer on the harp. It was, however, no unsaintly 
accomplishment; for Saint Dunstan certainly did play 
upon that instrument, which, retaining, as was natural, 
a portion of the sanctity attached to its master's charac- 
ter, announced future events by its spontaneous sound. 
"But laboring once in these mechanic arts for a devout 
matrone that had sett him on work, his violl, that hung 
by him on the wall, of its own accord, without anie 
man's helpe, distinctly sounded this anthime: 'Gaudent 
in coelis animae sanctorum qui Christi vestigia sunt 
secuti ; et qui pro eius amore sanguinem suum fuderunt, 
ideo cum Christo gaudent ceternum.' Whereat all the 
companie being much astonished, turned their eyes 
from beholding him working, to look on that strange 
accident. . . . Not long after, manie of the court that 
hitherunto had borne a kind of fayned friendship to- 
wards him, began now greatly to envie at his progresse 
and rising in goodnes, using manie crooked, backbiting 
means to diffame his vertues with the black markes of 
hypocrsie. And the better to authorize their calumnie, 
they brought in this that happened in the violl, affirm- 
ing" it to have been done by art magick. What more? 
This wicked rumour encreased dayly, till the king and 
others of the nobilitie taking hould thereof, Dunstan 
grew odious in their sight. Therefore he resolued to 
leaue the court, and goe to Elphegus, surnamed the 
Bauld, then bishop of Winchester, who was his cozen. 
Which his enemies understanding, they layd wayte for 
him in the way, and hauing throwne him off his horse, 
beate him, and dragged him in the durt in the most mis- 
erable manner, meaning to have slaine him, had not a 
companie of mastiue dogges, that came unlookt uppon 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 63 

Can thus its master's fate foretell. 
Then welcome be the minstrel's knell! 



VIII. 



< i 



But, ah! dear lady, thus it sigh'd 
The eve thy sainted mother died ; 
And such the sounds which, while I strove 
To wake a lay of war or love, 
Came marring all the festal mirth, 
Appalling me who gave them birth, 
And, disobedient to my call, 
Wail'd loud through Bothwell's banner'd 

hall, 
Ere Douglasses, to ruin driven,* 

them, defended and redeemed him from their crueltie. 
When with sorrow he was ashamed to see dogges more 
humane than they. And giuing thankes to Almightie 
God, he sensibly againe perceaued that the tunes of his 
violl had giuen him a warning of future accidents. ' * — 
Flower of the Lives of the most renowned Saincts of 
England, Scotland, and Ireland, by the R. Father Hier- 
ome Porter. Doway, 1632. 4to, tome i. p. 438. 

The same supernatural circumstance is alluded to by 
the anonymous author of "Grim, the Collier of Croy- 
don." 

" (Dun stan*s harp sounds on the wall.") 

"Forest. Hark, hark, my lords, the holy abbot's harp 
Sounds by itself so hanging on the wall ! 

"Dunstan. Unhallow'd man, that scorn'st the sacred 
rede, 
Hark, how the testimony of my truth 
Sounds heavenly music with an angel's hand, 
To testify Dunstan's integrity, 
And prove thy active boast of no effect. 

*The downfall of the Douglasses of the house of 
Angus, during the reign of James V., is the event al- 
luded to in the text. The Earl of Angus, it will be re- 
membered, had married the queen dowager, and availed 



64 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Were exiled from their native heaven. 
Oh ! if yet worse mishap and woe, 
My master's house must undergo, 
Or aught but weal to Ellen fair, 
Brood in these accents of despair, 
No future bard, sad Harp! shall fling 
Triumph or rapture from thy string ; 
One short, one final strain shall flow, 
Fraught with unutterable woe, 
Then shiver'd shall thy fragments lie, 
Thy master cast him down and die!" 



himself of the right which he thus acquired, as well as 
of his extensive power, to retain the king in a sort of 
tutelage, which approached very near to captivity. Sev- 
eral open attempts were made to rescue James from this 
thraldom, with which he was well known to be deeply 
disgusted; but the valor of the Douglasses, and their 
allies, gave them the victory in every conflict. At length 
the king, while residing at Falkland, contrived to escape 
by night out of his own court and palace, and rode full 
speed to Stirling Castle, where the governor, who was 
of the opposite faction, joyfully received him. Being 
thus at liberty, James speedily summoned around him 
such peers as he knew to be most inimical to the domi- 
nation of Angus, and laid his complaint before them, 
says Pitscottie, "with great lamentations: showing to 
them how he was holden in subjection, thir years by- 
gone, by the Earl of Angus, and his kin and friends, 
who oppressed the whole country, and spoiled it, under 
the pretence of justice and his authority ; and had slain 
man}?- of his lieges, kinsmen, and friends, because they 
would have had it mended at their hands, and put him 
at liberty, as he ought to have been at the counsel of. his 
whole lords, and not have been subjected and corrected 
with no particular men, by the rest of his nobles: 
Therefore, said he, I desire,' my lords, that I maybe 
satisfied of the said earl, his kin, and friends; fori 
avow, that Scotland shall not hold us both, while [i. e., 
till] I be revenged on him, and his. 




" Plucked a blue hare-bell from the ground."— Page 65. 

The Lady of the Lake. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 65 

IX. 

Soothing she answer 'd him, " Assuage, 
Mine honor'd friend, the fears of age; 
All melodies to thee are known, 
That harp has rung or pipe has blown, 
In Lowland vale or Highland glen, 
From Tweed to Spey — what marvel, then 
At times, unbidden notes should rise, 
Confusedly bound in memory's ties, 
Entangling as they rush along, 
The war-march with the funeral song? — 
Small ground is now for boding fear; 
Obscure, but safe, we rest us here. 
My sire, in native virtue great, 
Resigning lordship, lands, and state, 
Not then to fortune more resign'd, 
Than yonder oak might give the wind: 
The graceful foliage storms may reave, 
The noble stem they cannot grieve. 
Forme," — she stoop'd, and, looking round, 
Pluck'd a blue hare-bell from the ground, — 



"The Lords hearing the king's complaint and lamen- 
tation, and also the great rage, fury, and malice, that 
he bore toward the Earl of Angus, his kin and friends, 
they concluded all, and thought it best that he should 
be summoned to underlay the law ; if he found no cau- 
tion, nor yet compear himself, that he should be put to 
the horn, with all his kin and friends, so many as were 
contained in the letters. And farther, the lords or- 
dained, by advice of his majesty, that his brother and 
friends should be summoned to find caution to underlay 
the law within a certain day, or else be put to the horn. 
But the earl appeared not, nor none for him ; and so he 
was put to the horn, with all his kin and friends; so 
many as were contained in the summons, that compeared 
not, were banished, and holden traitors to the king." 

5 



66 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

44 For me, whose memory scarce conveys 

An image of more splendid days, 

This little flower that loves the lea, 

May well my simple emblem be ; 

It drinks heaven's due as blithe as rose* 

That in the king's own garden grows; 

And when I place it in my hair, 

Allan, a bard is bound to swear 

He ne'er saw coronet so fair." 

Then playfully the chaplet wild 

She wreath'd in her dark locks, and smiled. 

x. 

Her smile, her speech, with winning sway, 

Wiled the old harper's mood away. 

With such a look as hermits throw, 

When angels stoop to soothe their woe, 

He gazed, till fond regret and pride 

Thrill'd to a tear, then thus replied: 

i4 Loveliest and best! thou little know'st 

The rank, the honors, thou hast lost! 

O might I live to see thee grace, 

In Scotland's court, thy birth-right place, 

To see my favorite's step advance, f 

The lightest in the courtly dance, 

The cause of every gallant's sigh, 

And leading star of every eye, 

And theme of every minstrel's art, 

The Lady of the Bleeding Heart!" J 



*MS. : "No blither dewdrop cheers the rose." 

t This couplet is not in the MS. 

t The well-known cognizance of the Douglas family. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 61 

XI. 

44 Fair dreams are these/' the maiden cried, 
(Light was her accent, yet she sighed ;) 
44 Yet is this mossy rock to me 
Worth splendid chair and canopy; * 
Nor would my footsteps spring more gay 
In courtly dance than blithe strathspey, 
Nor half so pleased mine ear incline 
To royal minstrel's lay as thine. 
And then for suitors proud and high, 
To bend before my conquering eye, — 
Thou, flattering bard! thyself wilt say, 
That grim Sir Roderick owns its sway. 
The Saxon's scourge, Clan- Alpine's pride, 
The terror of Loch Lomond's side, 
Would, at my suit, thou know'st, delay 
A Lennox foray — for a day." 



XII. 

The ancient bard her glee repress'd: 
4 '111 hast thou chosen theme for jest! 
For who, through all this western wild, 
Named Black Sir Roderick e'er, and smiled! 
In Holy Rood a knight he slew ; f 
I saw, when back the dirk he drew, 
Courtiers give place before the stride 
Of the undaunted homicide ; \ 



* MS. : "This mossy rock, my friend, to me 
Is worth gay chair and canopy." 

t See Appendix, Note C. 

% MS. : "Courtiers gave place with heartless stride 
Of the retiring homicide. " 



68 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And since, though outlaw'd, hath his hand, 
Full sternly kept his mountain land. 
Who else dare give — ah ! woe the day, * 
That I such hated truth should say — 
The Douglas, like a stricken deer, 
Disown'd by every noble peer, f 
Even the rude refuge we have here? 
Alas, this wild marauding Chief 
Alone might hazard our relief, 
And now thy maiden charms expand, 
Looks for his guerdon in thy hand; 
Full soon may dispensation sought, 

* MS. : "Who else dared own the kindred claim 
That bound him to thy mother's name? 
Who else dared give," etc. 

j* The exiled state of this powerful race is not exag- 
gerated in this and subsequent passages. The hatred 
of James against the race of Douglas was so inveterate 
that, numerous as their allies were, and disregarded as 
the regal authority had usually been in similar cases, 
their nearest friends, even in the most remote parts of 
Scotland, durst not entertain them, unless under the 
strictest and closest disguise. James Douglas, son of 
the banished Earl of Angus, afterwards well known by 
the tile of Earl of Morton, lurked, during the exile of 
his family, in the north of Scotland, under the assured 
name of James Innes, otherwise James the Grieve (i. e., 
Reve or Bailiff). "And as he bore the name," says 
Godscroft, "so did he also execute the office of a grieve 
or overseer of the lands and rents, the corn and cattle of 
him with whom he lived." From the habits of fru- 
gality, and observation which he acquired in his humble 
situation, the historian traces that intimate acquaintance 
with popular character, which enabled him to rise so 
high in the state, and that honorable economy by which 
he repaired and established the shattered estates of 
Angus and Morton. — History of the House of Douglas, 
Edinburgh, 1743, vol. ii. p. 160. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 69 

To back his suit from Rome be brought. 
Then, though an exile on the hill, 
Thy father, as the Douglas, still 
Be held in reverence and fear; 
And though to Roderick thou'rt so dear, 
That thou mightst guide with silken thread, 
Slave of thy will, this chieftain dread; 
Yet, O loved maid, thy mirth refrain! 
Thy hand is on a lion's mane." — 

XIII. 

"Minstrel," the maid replied, and high 
Her father's soul glanced from her eye, 
"My debts to Roderick's house I know: 
All that a mother could bestow, 
To Lady Margaret's care I owe, 
Since first an orphan in the wild 
She sorrow'd o'er her sister's child; 
To her brave chieftain son, from ire 
Of Scotland's king who shrouds my sire, 
A deeper, holier debt is owed ; 
And could I pay it with my blood. 
Allan ! Sir Roderick should command 
My blood, my life, — but not my hand. 
Rather will Ellen Douglas dwell 
A votaress in Maronnan's cell; * 
Rather through realms beyond the sea, 

* The parish of Kilmaronock, at the eastern extremity 
of Loch-Lomond, derives its name from a cell or chapel, 
dedicated to Saint Maronoch, or Marnoch, or Maronnan, 
about whose sanctity very little is now remembered. 
There is a fountain devoted to him in the same parish; 
but its virtues, like the merits of its patrons, have fallen 
into oblivion. 



70 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Seeking the world's cold charity, 
Where ne'er was spoke a Scottish word, 
And ne'er the name of Douglas heard, 
An outcast pilgrim will she rove, 
Than wed the man she cannot love.* 

XIV. 

4 * Thou shakest, good friend, thy tresses gray 

That pleading look, what can it say 

But what I own? — I grant him brave, 

But wild as Bracklinn's thundering wave; f 

And generous — save vindictive mood, 

Or jealous transport, chafe his blood: 

I grant him true to friendly band, 

As his claymore is to his hand; 

But O ! that very blade of steel 

More mercy for a foe would feel : 

I grant him liberal, to fling 

Among his clan the wealth they bring, 

When back by lake and glen they wind, 

And in the Lowland leave behind, 

* "Ellen is most exquisitely drawn, and could not 
have been improved by contrast. She is beautiful, 
frank, affectionate, rational, and playful, combining the 
innocence of a child with the elevated sentiments and 
courage of a heroine." — Quarterly Review. 

f This is a beautiful cascade made by a mountain 
stream called the Keltie, at a place called the Bridge of 
Bracklinn, about a mile from the village of Callander in 
Menteith. Above a chasm, where the brook precipi- 
tates itself from a height of at least fifty feet, there is 
thrown, for the convenience of the neighborhood, a 
rustic footbridge, of about three feet in breadth, and with- 
out ledges, which is scarcely to be crossed by a stranger 
without awe and apprehension. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 71 

Where once some pleasant hamlet stood, 

A mass of ashes slaked with blood. 

The hand that for my father fought, 

I honor as his daughter ought ; 

But can I clasp it reeking red, 

From peasants slaughter'd in their shed? 

No ! wildly while his virtues gleam, 

They make his passions darker seem, 

And flash along his spirit high, 

Like lightning o'er the midnight sky. 

While yet a child, — and children know, 

Instinctive taught, the friend and foe, 

I shudder'd at his brow of gloom, 

His shadowy plaid, and sable plume! 

A maiden grown, I ill could bear 

His haughty mien and lordly air; 

But, if thou join'st a suitor's claim, 

In serious mood, to Roderick's name, 

I thrill with anguish! or, if e'er 

A Douglas knew the word, with fear. 

To change such odious theme were best, — 

What think'st thou of our stranger guest?" 

xv. 

4 * What think I of him? — woe the while 
That brought such wanderer to our isle ! 
Thy father's battle-brand, of yore 
For Tine-man forged by fairy lore,* 

* Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfor- 
tunate in all his enterprises, that he acquired the epi- 
thet of Tine-man, because he tined, or lost, his follow- 
ers in every battle which he fought. He was van- 
quished, as every reader must remember, in the blood v 
battle of Homildon-hill, near Wooler, where he himself 



72 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

What time he leagued, no longer foes, 

His Border spears with Hotspur's bows, 

Did, self-unscabbarded, foreshow 

The footstep of a secret foe.* 

If courtly spy hath harbor' d here, 

What may we for the Douglas fear? 

What for this island, deem'd of old 

Clan- Alpine's last and surest hold? 

If neither spy nor foe, I pray 

What yet may jealous Roderick say? 

— Nay, wave not thy disdainful head, 

Bethink thee of the discord dread 

That kindled, when at Beltane game 

Thou ledst the dance with Malcolm Graeme; 

Still, though thy sire the peace renew'd, 

Smoulders in Roderick's breast the feud; 

Beware ! — But hark, what sounds are these? f 

My dull ears catch no faltering breeze, 

No weeping birch, no aspens wake, 

lost an eye, and was made prisoner by Hotspur. He 
was no less unfortunate when allied with Percy, being 
wounded and taken at the battle of Shrewsbury. He 
was so unsuccessful in an attempt to besiege Roxburgh 
Castle, that it was called the Foul Raid, or disgraceful 
expedition. His ill fortune left him indeed at the battle 
of Beauge, in France ; but it was only to return with 
double emphasis at the subsequent action of Vernoii, 
the last and most unlucky of his encounters, in which 
he fell, with the flower of the Scottish chivalry, then 
serving as auxiliaries in France, and about two thou- 
sand common soldiers, A. D. 1424. 

* See Appendix, Note D. 

f "The moving picture — the effect of the sounds — and 
the wild character and strong peculiar nationality of the 
whole procession, are given with inimitable spirit and 
power of expression. ' ' — Jeffrey. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 73 

Nor breath is dimpling in the lake. 
Still is the canna's* hoary beard, — 
Yet, by my minstrel faith, I heard — 
And hark again ! some pipe of war 
Sends the bold pibroch from afar." 

XVI. 

Far up the lengthen 'd lake were spied 

Four darkening specks upon the tide, 

That, slow enlarging on the view, 

Four mann'd and masted barges grew, 

And, bearing downwards from Glengyle, 

Steer'd full upon the lonely isle; 

The point of Brianchoil they pass'd, 

And, to the windward as they cast, 

Against the sun they gave to shine 

The bold Sir Roderick's banner'd Pine. 

Nearer and nearer as they bear, 

Spears, pikes, and axes flash in air. 

Now might you see the tartans brave, 

And plaids and plumage dance and wave: 

Now see the bonnets sink and rise, 

As his tough oar the rower plies; 

See, flashing at each sturdy stroke, 

The wave ascending into smoke; 

See the proud pipers on the bow, 

And mark the gaudy streamers flow 

Form their loud chanters f down, and sweep 

The furrow 'd bosom of the deep, 

As rushing through the lake amain, 

They plied the ancient Highland strain. 

* Cotton-grass. 

| The pipes of the bagpipe. 



74 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XVII. 

Ever, as on they bore, more loud 

And louder rung the pibroch proud. 

At first the sounds, by distance tame, 

Mellow'd along the waters came, 

And, lingering long by cape and bay, 

Waird every harsher note away; 

Then, bursting bolder on the ear, 

The clan's shrill Gathering they could hear; 

Those thrilling sounds, that call the might 

Of old Clan- Alpine to the fight.* 

Thick beat the rapid notes, as when 

The mustering hundreds shake the glen, 

And hurrying at the signal dread, 

The batter'd earth returns their tread. 

Then prelude light, of livelier tone, 

* The connoisseurs in pipe-music affect to discover in 
a well-composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march. 
conflict, flight, pursuit, and all the "current of a heady 
fight." To this opinion Dr. Beat tie has given his 
suffrage, in the following elegant passage: "A pibroch 
is a species of tune, peculiar, I think, to the Highlands 
and Western Isles of Scotland. It is performed on a 
bagpipe, and differs totally from all other music. Its 
rhythm is so irregular, and its notes, especially in the 
quick movement, so mixed and huddled together, that 
a stranger finds it impossible to reconcile his ear to it, 
so'as to perceive its modulation. Some of these pibrochs, 
being intended to represent a battle, began with a grave 
motion resembling a march; then gradually quicken 
into the onset; run off with noisy confusion, and turbu- 
lent rapidity, to imitate the conflict and pursuit; then 
swell into a few flourishes of triumphant joy; and per- 
haps close with the wild and low wailings of a funeral 
procession. — Essays on Laughter and Ludicrous Com- 
position, chap. iii. Note. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 75 

Expressed their merry marching on, 

Ere peal of closing battle rose, 

With mingled outcry, shrieks, and blows; 

A mimic din of stroke and ward, 

As broadsword upon target jarr'd; 

And groaning pause, ere yet again, 

Condensed, the battle yell'd amain; 

The rapid charge, the rallying shout, 

Retreat borne headlong into rout, 

And bursts of triumph, to declare 

Clan- Alpine's conquest — all were there. 

Nor ended thus the strain ; but slow 

Sunk in a moan prolong'd and low, 

And changed the conquering clarion swell, 

For wild lament o'er those that fell. 



XVIII. 

The war-pipes ceased; but lake and hill 
Were busy with their echoes still; 
And when they slept, a vocal strain 
Bade their hoarse chorus wake again, 
While loud a hundred clansmen raise 
Their voices in their Chieftain's praise. 
Each boatman, bending to his oar, 
With measured sweep the burden bore, 
In such wild cadence, as the breeze 
Makes through December's leafless trees. 
The chorus first could Allan know, 
"Roderick Vich Alpine, ho! iro!" 
And near, and nearer as they row'd, 
Distinct the martial dittv flow'd. 



76 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XIX. 
BOAT SONG. 

Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances! 

Honor 'd and bless'd be the ever-green Pine! 
Long may the tree, in his banner that glances, 
Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line ! 

Heaven send it happy dew, 

Earth lend it sap anew, 
Gayly to bourgeon, and broadly to grow, 

While every Highland glen 

Send our shout back agen, 
"Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho* ieroe!"* 

* Besides his ordinary name and surname, which were 
chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every 
Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patri- 
archal dignity as head of the clan, and which was com- 
mon to all his predecessors and successors, as Pharaoh 
to the kings of Egypt, or Arsaces to those of Parthia. 
This name was usually a patronymic, expressive of his 
descent from the founder of the family. Thus the Duke 
of Argyle is called MacCallum More, or the son of Colin 
the Great. Sometimes, however, it is derived from 
armorial distinctions, or the memory of some great feat ; 
thus Lord Seaforth, as chief of the Mackenzies, or Clan- 
Kenneth, bears the epithet of Caber- fae, or Buck's Head, 
as representative of Colin Fitzgerald, founder of the 
family who saved the Scottish king when endangered 
by a stag. But besides this title, which belonged to his 
office and dignity, the chieftain had usually another 
peculiar to himself, which distinguished him from the 
chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes 
derived from complexion, as dhu or roy; sometimes 
from size, as beg or more ; at other times, from some 
peculiar exploit, or from some peculiarity of habit or 
appearance. The line of the text therefore signifies, 
Black Roderick, the descendant of Alpine. 

The song itself is intended as an imitation of the jor- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 77 

Ours is no sapling, chance-sown by the foun- 
tain, 
Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade ; 
When the whirlwind has stripp'd every leaf on 
the mountain, 
The more shall Clan-Alpine exult in her 
shade. 
Moor'd in the rifted rock, 
Proof to the tempest's shock, 
Firmer he roots him the ruder it blow ; 
Menteith and Breadalbane, then, 
Echo his praise again, 
"Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!" 

xx. 

Proudly our pibroch has thrill'd in Glen Fruin, 
And Bannochar's groans to our slogan 
replied ; 
Glen Luss and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in 
ruin, 
And the best of Loch Lomond lie dead on her 
side.* 
Widow and Saxon maid 
Long shall lament our raid, 
Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe 
Lennox and Leven-glen 
Shake when they hear again, 
"Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!" 

rams, or boat-songs of the Highlanders, which were 
usually composed in honor of a favorite chief. They 
are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of the 
oars, and it is easy to distinguish between those intended 
to be sung to the oars of a galley, where the stroke is 
lengthened and doubled, as it were, and those which 
were timed to the rowers of an ordinary boat. 
* See Appendix, Note E. 



78 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Row, vassals, row for the pride of the High- 
lands ! 
Stretch to your oars, for the ever-green Pine! 
O ! that the rose-bud that graces yon islands, 
Were wreathed in a garland around him to 
twine. 
O, that some seedling gem, 
Worthy such noble stem, 
Honor'd and blessed in their shadow might 
grow ! 
Loud should Clan- Alpine then 
Ring from her deepest glen, 
"Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!"* 

XXI. 

With all her joyful female band, 

Had Lady Margaret sought the strand. 

Loose on the breeze their tresses flew, 

And high their snowy arms they threw, 

As echoing back with shrill acclaim, 

And chorus wild, the Chieftain's name;f 

While, prompt to please, with mother's art, 

The darling passion of his heart, 

The Dame called Ellen to the strand 

To greet her kinsman ere he land : 

44 Come, loiterer, come! a Douglas thou, 

* "However we may dislike the geographical song 
and chorus, half English and half Erse, which is sung in 
praise of the warrior * we must allow that, in other 
respects, the hero of a poem has seldom, if ever, been 
introduced with finer effect, or in a manner better calcu- 
lated to excite the expectations of the reader, than on 
the present occasion. "—Critical Review. 

f MS. : "The chorus to the chieftain's fame." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 79 

And shun to wreathe a victor's brow?" — 
Reluctantly and slow, the maid 
The unwelcome summoning obey'd, 
And, when a distant bugle rung, 
In the mid-path aside she sprung : — 
"List, Allan-Bane! From mainland cast, 
I hear my father's signal blast. 
Be ours," she cried, "the skiff to guide, 
And waft him from the mountain-side/' 
Then, like a sunbeam, swift and bright, 
She darted to her shallop light, 
And, eagerly while Roderick scann'd, 
For her dear form, his mother's band, 
The islet far behind her lay, 
And she had landed in the bay. 

XXII. 

Some feelings are to mortals given, 
With less of earth in them than heaven. 
And if there be a human tear 
From passion's dross refined and clear, 
A tear so limpid and so meek, 
It would not stain an angel's cheek, 
'Tis that which pious fathers shed 
Upon a duteous daughter's head! 
And as the Douglas to his breast 
His darling Ellen closely press'd, 
Such holy drops her tresses steep'd, 
Though 'twas an hero's eye that weep'd. 
Nor while on Ellen's faltering tongue * 

* MS. : "Nor while on Elian's faltering tongue 
Her filial greetings eager hung, 
Mark'd not that awe (affection's proof) 
Still held yon gentle youth aloof; 



80 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Her filial welcomes crowded hung, 
Mark'd she, that fear (affection's proof) 
Still held a graceful youth aloof ; 
No! not till Douglas named his name, 
Although the youth was Malcolm Graeme. 

XXIII. 

Allan, with wistful look the while, 

Mark'd Roderick landing on the isle; 

His master piteously he eyed, 

Then gazed upon the Chieftain's pride, 

Then dash'd, with hasty hand, away 

From his dimm'd eye the gathering spray; 

And Douglas, as his hand he laid 

On Malcolm's shoulder, kindly said, 

4 'Canst thou, young friend, no meaning spy 

In my poor follower's glistening eye? 

I'll tell thee: he recalls the day, 

When in my praise he led the lay 

O'er the arch'd gate of Bothwell proud, 

While many a minstrel answer'd loud, 

When Percy's Norman pennon won 

In bloody field before me shone, 

And twice ten knights, the least a name 

As mighty as yon Chief may claim, 

Gracing my pomp, behind me came. 

Yet trust me, Malcolm, not so proud 

Was I of all that marshall'd crowd, 

Though the waned crescent own'd my might. 

And in my train troop 'd lord and knight, 

No ! not till Douglas named his name, 
Although the youth was Malcolm Graeme, 
Then with flushed cheek and downcast eye, 
Their greeting was confused and shy." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 81 

Though Blantyre hymn'd her holiest lays 
And Both well's bards flung back my praise 
As when this old man's silent tear, 
And this poor maid's affection dear, 
A welcome give more kind and true, 
Than aught my better fortunes knew. 
Forgive, my friend, a father's boast, — 
O, it out-beggars all I lost!" 

XXIV. 

Delightful praise ! — Like summer rose 
That brighter in the dew-drop glows, 
The bashful maiden's cheek appear'd, 
For Douglas spoke, and Malcolm heard. 
The flush of shame-faced joy to hide, 
The hounds, the hawk, her cares divide; 
The loved caresses of the maid 
The dogs with crouch and whimper paid;* 
And, at her whistle, on her hand 
The falcon took his favorite stand, 
Closed his dark wing, relax'd his eye, 
Nor, though unhooded, sought to fly. 
And, trust, while in such guise she stood, 
Like fabled Goddess of the wood,f 
That if a father's partial thought 
O'erweighed her worth and beauty aught 
Well might the lover's judgment fail 
To balance with a jester scale; 
For with each secret glance he stole, 
The fond enthusiast sent his soul. 



* MS. : — "The dogs with whimpering notes repaid.* ' 
t MS. : — "Like fabled huntress of the wood." 
6 



82 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XXV. 

Of stature tall, and slender frame, 

But firmly knit, was Malcolm Graeme. 

The belted plaid and tartan hose 

Did ne'er more graceful limbs disclose; 

His flaxen hair of sunny hue, 

Curl'd closely round his bonnet blue. 

Train'd to the chase, his eager eye 

The ptarmigan in snow could spy; 

Each pass, by mountain, lake, and heath, 

He knew, through Lennox and Menteith ; 

Vain was the bound of dark-brown doe, 

When Malcolm bent his sounding bow, 

And scarce that doe, though wing'd with fear, 

Outstripp'd in speed the mountaineer: 

Right up Ben Lomond could he press, 

And not a sob his toil confess. 

His form accorded with a mind 

Lively and ardent, frank and kind; 

A blither heart till Ellen came, 

Did never love or sorrow tame 

It danced as lightsome in his breast, 

As play'd the feather on his crest. 

Yet friends who nearest knew the youth, 

His scorn of wrong, his zeal for truth, 

And bards, who saw his features bold 

When kindled by the tales of old, 

Said, were that youth to manhood grown 

Not long should Roderick Dhu's renown 

Be foremost voiced by mountain fame, 

But quail to that of Malcolm Graeme. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 83 



XXVI. 

Now back the wend their watery way, 
And, "O my sire!" did Ellen say, 
"Why urge thy chase so far astray? 
And why so late return'd? And why" — 
The rest was in her speaking eye. 
"My child, the chase I follow far, 
'Tis mimicry of noble war; 
And with that gallant pastime reft 
Were all of Douglas I have left. 
I met young Malcolm as I stray'd, 
Far eastward, in Glenfinlas' shade, 
Nor stray 'd I safe; for, all around, 
Hunters and horsemen scour'd the ground. 
This youth, though still a royal ward, 
Risk'd life and land to be my guard, 
And through the passes of the wood 
Guided my steps, not unpursued ; 
And Roderick shall his welcome make, 
Despite old spleen, for Douglas' sake. 
Then must he seek Strath- Endrick glen 
Nor peril aught for me again. " 

XXVII. 

Sir Roderick, who to meet them came, 
Redden'd at sight of Malcolm Graeme, 
Yet, not in action, word, or eye, 
Fail'd aught in hospitality. 
In talk and sport they whiled away 
The morning of that summer day; 
But at high-noon a courier light 
Held secret parley with the knight, 
Whose moody aspect soon declared 



84 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

That evil were the news he heard. 

Deep thought seem'd toiling in his head; 

Yet was the evening banquet made, 

Ere he assembled round the flame, 

His mother, Douglas, and the Graeme, 

And Ellen, too; then cast around 

His eyes, then fixed them on the ground, 

As studying phrase that might avail 

Best to convey unpleasant tale. 

Long with his dagger's hilt he play'd, 

Then raised his haughty brow, and said: 

XXVIII. 

<4 Short be my speech ; — nor time affords, 
Nor my plain temper, glazing words. 
Kinsman and father, — if such name 
Douglas vouchsafe to Roderick's claim; 
Mine honor'd mother; — Ellen, — why, 
My cousin, turn away thine eye? — 
And Grseme, in whom I hope to know 
Full soon a noble friend or foe, 
When age shall give thee thy command, 
And leading in thy native land, — 
List all! — the King's vindictive pride 
Boasts to have tamed the Border-side,* 

*In 1529, James V. made a convention at Edinburgh 
for the purpose of considering the best mode of quelling 
the Border robbers, who, during the license of his min- 
ority, and the troubles which followed, had committed 
many exorbitances. Accordingly, he assembled a flying 
army of ten thousand men, consisting of his principal 
nobility and their followers, who were directed to bring 
their hawks and dogs with them, that the monarch 
might refresh himself with sport during the intervals of 
military execution. With this array he swept through 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 85 

Where chiefs, with hound and hawk who came, 

To share their monarch's sylvan game, 

Themselves in bloody toils were snared; 

And when the banquet they prepared, 

And wide their loyal portals flung, 

O'er their own gateway struggling hung. 

Loud cries their blood from Meggat's mead, 

From Yarrow braes, and banks of Tweed, 

Where the lone streams of Ettrick glide, 

And from the silver Teviot's side; 

The dales, where martial clans did ride,* 

Are now one sheep-walk, waste and widfe. 

This tyrant of the Scottish throne, 

So faithless, and so ruthless known, 

Now hither comes; his end the same, 

The same pretext of sylvan game. 

What grace for Highland Chiefs, judge ye 



Ettrick Forest, where he hanged over the gate of his 
own castle Piers Cockburn of Henderland, who had pre- 
pared, according to tradition, a feast for his reception. 
He caused Adam Scott of Tushielaw also to be exe- 
cuted, who was distinguished by the title of King of the 
Border. But the most noted victim of justice during 
that expedition was John Armstrong of Gilnockie, fa- 
mous in Scottish song, who, confiding in his own sup- 
posed innocence, met the King, with a retinue of thirty- 
six persons, all of whom were hanged at Carlenrig, near 
the source of the Teviot. The effect of this severity 
was such, that, as the vulgar expressed it, "the rush- 
bush kept the cow," and "thereafter was great peace 
and rest for a long time, where through the king had 
great profit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the 
Ettrick Forest in keeping by Andrew Bell, who made 
the King as good count of them as they had gone in the 
bonds of Fife." — Pittscottie's History, p. 153. 

*MS. : "The dales where clans were wont to bide.'* 



86 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

By fate of Border chivalry.* 

Yet more: amid Glenfinlas' green, 

Douglas, thy stately form was seen. 

This by espial sure I know : 

Your counsel in the streight I show." 

XXIX. 

Ellen and Margaret fearfully 
Sought comfort in each other's eye, 
Then ttirn'd their ghastly look, each one, 
This to her sire, that to her son. 
The hasty color went and came 
In the bold cheek of Malcolm Graeme ; 
But from his glance it well appear'd 
'Twas but for Ellen that he fear'd; 



* James was, in fact, equally attentive to restrain rapine 
and feudal oppression in every part of his dominions. 
"The King past to the Isles, and there held justice 
courts, and punished both thief and traitor according to 
their demerit. And also he caused great men to show 
their holdings, where through he found many of the 
said lands in non-entry; the which he confiscate and 
brought home to his own use, and afterward annexed 
them to the crown, as ye shall hear. Syne brought 
many of the great men of the isles captive with him, 
such as Mudyart, M'Connel, M'Loyd of the Lewes, 
M'Neil, M'Lane, MTntosh, Tohn Mudyart, M'Kay, 
M'Kenzie, with many other that I cannot rehearse at 
this time. Some of them he put in ward and some in 
court, and some he took pledges for good rule in time 
coming. So he brought the isles, both north and south, 
in good rule and peace ; wherefore he had great profit, 
service, and obedience of people a long time hereafter ; 
and as long as he had the heads of the country in sub- 
jection, they lived in great peace and rest, and there 
was great riches and policy by the King's justice." — 
Pittscottie, p. 152. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 87 

While, sorrowful, but undismayed, 

The Douglas thus his counsel said : 

"Brave Roderick, though the tempest roar, 

It may but thunder and pass o'er; 

Nor will I here remain an hour, 

To draw the lightning on thy bower; 

For well thou know'st, at this gray head 

The royal bolt were fiercest sped. 

For thee, who, at thy King's command, 

Canst aid him with a gallant band, 

Submission, homage, humbled pride, 

Shall turn the Monarch's wrath aside. 

Poor remnants of the Bleeding Heart, 

Ellen and I will seek, apart, 

The refuge of some forest cell, 

There, like the hunted quarry, dwell, 

Till on the mountain and the moor, 

The stern pursuit be pass'd and o'er." 

XXX. 

"No, by mine honor," Roderick said, 

"So help me Heaven, and my good blade! 

No, never! Blasted be yon Pine, 

My father's ancient crest and mine, 

If from its shade in danger part 

The lineage of the Bleeding Heart! 

Hear my blunt speech: grant me this maid 

To wife, thy counsel to mine aid ; 

To Douglas, leagued with Roderick Dhu, 

Will friends and allies flock enow; 

Like cause of doubt, distrust, and grief, 

Will bind to us each Western Chief. 

When the loud pipes my bridal tell, 

The Links of Forth shall hear the knell. 



88 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

The guards shall start in Stirling's porch; 
And, when I light the nuptial torch, 
A thousand villages in flames, 
Shall scare the slumbers of King James! 
— Nay, Ellen, blench not thus away, 
And, mother, cease these signs, I pray ; 
I meant not all my heat might say. 
Small need of inroad, or of fight, 
When the sage Douglas may unite 
Each mountain clan in friendly band, 
To guard the passes of their land. 
Till the foird king from pathless glen,* 
Shall bootless turn him home again." 

XXXI. 

There are who have at midnight hour, 

In slumber scaled a dizzy tower, 

And on the verge that beetled o'er 

The ocean tide's incessant roar, 

Dream'd calmly out their dangerous dream,f 

Till waken 'd by the morning beam; 

When, dazzled by the eastern glow, 

Such startler cast his glance below, 

And saw unmeasured depth around, 

And heard unintermitted sound, 

And thought the battled fence so frail 

It waved like cobweb in the gale ; — 

Amid his senses' giddy wheel, 

Did he not desperate impulse feel, 

Headlong to plunge himself below, 

And meet the worst his fears foreshow? — 



*MS. : "Till the foil'd king, from hill and glen." 
fMS. : "Dream'd calmly out their desperate dream. " 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 89 

Thus, Ellen, dizzy and astound, 

As sudden ruin yawned around, 

By crossing terrors wildly toss'd, 

Still for the Douglas fearing most, 

Could scarce the desperate thought withstand 

To buy his safety with her hand. 

XXXII. 

Such purpose dread could Malcolm spy 
In Ellen's quivering lip and eye, 
And eager rose to speak — but ere 
His tongue could hurry forth his fear, 
Had Douglas mark'd the hectic strife, 
Where death seem'd combating with life; 
For to her cheek, in feverish flood, 
One instant rush'd the throbbing blood, 
Then ebbing back, with sudden sway, 
Left its domain as wan as clay. 
"Roderick, enough! enough !" he cried, 
4 'My daughter cannot be thy bride; 
Not that the blush to wooer dear, 
Nor paleness that of maiden fear. 
It may not be — forgive her, Chief, 
Nor hazard aught for our relief. 
Against his sovereign, Douglas ne'er 
Will level a rebellious spear. 
'Twas I that taught his youthful hand 
To rein a steed and wield a brand; 
I see him yet, the princely boy ! 
Not Ellen more my pride and joy ; 
I love him still, despite my wrongs 
By hasty wrath and slanderous tongues. 
O seek the grace you well may find, 
Without a cause to mine combined!" 



90 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXXIII. 

Twice through the hall the Chieftain strode ; 
The waving of his tartans broad, 
And darken* d brow, where wounded pride 
With ire and disappointment vied, 
Seem'd, by the torch's gloomy light, 
Like the ill Demon of the night, 
Stooping his pinions' shadowy sway 
Upon the nighted pilgrim's way; 
But, unrequited Love! thy dart 
Plunged deepest its envenom'd smart. 
And Roderick, with thine anguish stung, 
At length the hand of Douglas wrung, 
While eyes that mock'd at tears before 
With bitter drops were running o'er. 
The death-pangs of long-cherish 'd hope 
Scarce in that ample breast had scope, 
But, struggling with his spirit proud, 
Convulsive heaved its checker'd shroud, 
While every sob — so mute were all — 
Was heard distinctly through the hall. 
The son's despair, the mother's look, 
111 might the gentle Ellen brook; 
She rose, and to her side there came, 
To aid her parting steps, the Graeme. 

XXXIV. 

Then Roderick from the Douglas broke — 
As flashes flame through sable smoke, 
Kindling its wreaths, long, dark, and low, 
To one broad blaze of ruddy glow, 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 91 

So the deep anguish of despair* 
Burst, in fierce jealousy, to air. 
With stalwart grasp his hand he laid 
On Malcolm's breast and belted plaid; 
44 Back, beardless boy!" he sternly said, 
"Back, minion! holdst thou thus at naught 
The lesson I so lately taught? 
This roof, the Douglas, and that maid, 
Thank thou for punishment delay'd. " 
Eager as greyhound on his game, 
Fiercely with Roderick grappled Graeme, f 
44 Perish my name, if aught afford 
Its Chieftain safety save his sword !" 
Thus as they strove, their desperate handj 
Griped to the dagger or the brand, 
And death had been — but Douglas rose, 
And thrust between the struggling foes. 
His giant strength: — 44 Chieftains, forego! 
I hold the first who strikes, my foe. "§ 
Madmen, forbear your frantic jar! 
What! is the Douglas fall'n so far, 

*MS. : "The deep- toned anguish of despair 
Flush 'd in fierce jealous, to air." 

Y 'There is something foppish and out of character in 
Malcolm's rising to lead out Ellen from her own parlor; 
and the sort of wrestling match that takes place be- 
tween the rival chieftains on the occasion is humiliating 
and indecorous." — Jeffrey. 

X MS.: "Thus, as they strove, each better hand 
Grasp'd for the dagger or the brand." 

§ The author has to apologize for the inadvertent 
appropriation of a whole line from the tragedy of 
Douglas, 

44 I hold the first who strikes my foe." 

— Note to the Second Edition. 



92 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

His daughter's hand is deem'd the spoil 

Of such dishonorable broil?" 

Sullen and slowly, they unclasp,* 

As struck with shame, their desperate grasp, 

And each upon his rival glared, 

With foot advanced and blade half-bared. 

XXXV. 

Ere yet the brands aloft were flung, 
Margaret on Roderick's mantle hung, 
And Malcolm heard his Ellen's scream, 
As falter'd through terrific dream. 
Then Roderick plunged in sheath his sword, 
And veil'd his wrath in scornful word. 
''Rest safe till morning; pity 'twere 
Such cheek should feel the midnight airlf 



* MS. : "Sullen and slow the rivals bold 

Loos'd at his hest their desperate hold, 
But either still on other glar'd," etc. 

f Hardihood was in every respect so essential to the 
character of a Highlander, that the reproach of effemi- 
nacy was the most bitter which could be thrown upon 
him. Yet it was sometimes hazarded on what we might 
presume to think slight grounds. It is reported of old 
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, when upwards of 
seventy, that he was surprised by night on a hunting or 
military expedition. He wrapped him in his plaid, and 
lay contentedly down upon the snow, with which the 
ground happened to be covered. Among his attendants, 
who were preparing to take their rest in the same man- 
ner, he observed that one of his grandsons, for his better 
accommodation, had rolled a large snow-ball, and placed 
it below his head. The wrath of the ancient chief was 
awakened by a symptom of what he conceived to be 
degenerate luxury. "Out upon thee," said he, kicking 
the frozen bolster from the head which it supported; 
"art thou so effeminate as to need a pillow?" The 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 93 

Then mayest thou to James Stuart tell 
Roderick will keep the lake and fell, 
Nor lackey, with his freeborn clan, 
The pageant pomp of earthly man. 

officer of the engineers, whose curious letters from the 
Highlands have been more than once quoted, tells a 
similar story of Macdonald of Keppoch, and subjoins 
the following remarks: — "This and many other stories 
are romantick; but there is one thing, that at first 
thought might seem very romantick, of which I have 
been credibly assured, that when the Highlanders are 
constrained to lie among the hills, in cold, dry, windy 
weather, they sometimes soak the plaid in some river or 
burn (i. e., brook), and then, holding up a corner of it a 
little above their heads, they turn themselves round and 
round, till they are enveloped by the whole mantle. 
They then lay themselves down on the heath, upon the 
leeward side of some hill, where the wet and the warmth 
of their bodies make a steam, like that of a boiling ket- 
tle. The wet, they say, keeps them warm by thicken- 
ing the stuff, and keeping the wind from penetrating. 
I must confess I should have been apt to question this 
fact, had I not frequently seen them wet from morning 
to night, and, even at the beginning of the rain, not so 
much as stir a few yards to shelter, but continue in it 
without necessity, till they were, as we say, wet through 
and through. And that is soon effected by the loose- 
ness and spunginess of the plaiding ; but the bonnet is 
frequently taken off and wrung like a dishclout, and 
then put on again. They have been accustomed from 
their infancy to be often wet, and to take the water like 
spaniels, and this is become a second nature, and can 
scarcely be called a hardship to them, insomuch that I 
used to say, they seemed to be of the duck kind, and to 
love water as well. Though I never saw this prepara- 
tion for sleep in windy weather, yet, setting out early in 
a morning from one of the huts, I have seen the marks 
of their lodging, where the ground has been free from 
rime or snow, which remained all round the spot where 
they had lain." — Letters from Scotland, Lond., 1754, 
8vo, ii. p. 108. 



94 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

More would he of Clan-Alpine know, 
Thou canst our strength and passes show.- 
Malise, what ho!" — his hechman came;* 
44 Give our safe-conduct to the Graeme." 
Young Malcolm answer' d, calm and bold, 
" Fear nothing for thy favorite hold; 
The spot an angel deigned to grace 
Is bless'd, though robbers haunt the place, 
Thy churlish courtesy for those 
Reserve, who fear to be thy foes. 
As safe to me the mountain way 
At midnight as in blaze of day, 
Though with his boldest at his back 
Even Roderick Dhu beset the track. 
Brave Douglas,- — lovely Ellen, — nay, 
Naught here of parting will I say. 
Earth does not hold a lonesome glen, 



* "This officer is a sort of secretary, and is to be 
ready, upon all occasions, to venture his life in defence 
of his master ; and at drinking-bouts he stands behind 
his seat, at his haunch, from whence his title is derived, 
and watches the conversation, to see if any one offends 
his patron. An English officer being in company with 
a certain chietain, and several other Highland gentle- 
man, near Killichumen, had an argument with the great 
men ; and both being well warmed with usky, at last the 
dispute grew very hot. A youth who was henchman 
not understanding one word of English, imagined his 
chief was insulted, and thereupon drew his pistol from 
his side, and snapped it at the officer's head; but the 
pistol missed fire, otherwise it is more than probable he 
might have suffered death from the hand of that little 
vermin. But it is very disagreeable to an Englishman 
over a bottle with the Highlanders, to see every one of 
them have his gilly, that is, his servant, standing behind 
him, all the while, let what will be the subject of conver- 
sation." — Letters from Scotland, ii. 159. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 95 

So secret, but we meet again. 
Chieftain! we too shall find an hour." 
He said, and left the sylvan bower. 

xxxvi. 

Old Allan follow* d to the strand, 

(Such was the Douglas' command,) 

And anxious told, how, on the morn, 

The stern Sir Roderick deep had sworn, 

The Fiery Cross should circle o'er 

Dale, glen, and valley, down, and moor. 

Much were the peril to the Graeme, 

From those who to the signal came ; 

Far up the lake 'twere safest land, 

Himself would row him to the strand. 

He gave his counsel to the wind, 

While Malcolm did, unheeding, bind, 

Round dirk and pouch and broadsword roll'd, 

His ample plaid in tighten 'd fold, 

And stripp'd his limbs to such array, 

As best might suit the watery way, — 

XXXVII. 

Then spoke abrupt: "Farewell to thee, 
Pattern of old fidelity!" 
The Minstrel's hand he kindly press'd. — 
"O! could I point a place of rest! 
My sovereign holds in ward my land, 
My uncle leads my vassal band; 
To tame his foes his friends to aid, 
Poor Malcolm has but heart and blade. 
Yet, if there be one faithful Graeme, 
Who loves the Chieftain of his name, 
Not long shall honored Douglas dwell 



90 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Like hunted stag in mountain cell ; 

Nor, ere yon pride-swoll'n robber dare, — 

I may not give the rest to air! 

Tell Roderick Dhu I owed him naught, 

Not the poor service of a boat, 

To waft me to yon mountain- side. " 

Then plunged he in the flashing tide.* 

Bold o'er the flood his head he bore, 

And stoutly steer'd him from the shore; 

And Allan strain* d his anxious eye, 

Far 'mid the lake his form to spy, 

Darkening across each puny wave, 

To which the moon her silver gave. 

Fast as the cormorant could skim, 

The swimmer plied each active limb 

Then landing in the moonlight dell, 

Loud shouted of his weal to tell. 

The minstrel heard the far halloo, 

And joyful from the shore withdrew. 

* MS. : "He spoke, and plunged into the tide." 



CANTO THIRD. 

THE GATHERING. 
I. 

Time rolls his ceaseless course. The race of 
yore,* 
Who danced our infancy upon their knee, 
And told our marveling boyhood legends 
store, 
Of their strange ventures happ'd by land or 
sea, 
How are they blotted from the things that be ! 
How few, all weak and withered of their 
force, 
Wait on the verge of dark eternity, 

Like stranded wrecks, the tide returning 
hoarse, 
To sweep them from our sight! Time rolls 
his ceaseless course. 

Yet live there still who can remember well, 

How, when a mountain chief his bugle blew, 
Both field and forest, dingle, cliff, and dell, 

* ''There are no separate introductions to the cantos 
of this poem ; but each of them begins with one or two 
stanzas in the measure of Spenser, usually containing 
some reflections connected with the subject about to be 
entered on ; and written, for the most part, with great 
tenderness and beauty. The following, we think, is 
among the most striking.* ' — Jeffrey. 

7 97 



98 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And solitary heath, the signal knew ; 
And fast the faithful clan around him drew, 
What time the warning note was keenly 
wound, 
What time aloft their kindred banner flew, 
While clamorous war-pipes yell'd the gather- 
ing sound, 
And while the Fiery Cross glanced, like a 
meteor, round.* 

ii. 

The summer dawn's reflected hue 

To purple changed Loch Katrine blue ; 

Mildly and soft the western breeze 

Just kiss'd the lake, just stirr'd the trees, 

And the pleased lake, like maiden coy, 

Trembled but dimpled not for joy; 

The mountain-shadows on her breast 

Were neither broken nor at rest; 

In bright uncertainty they lie, 

Like future joys to Fancy's eye. 

The water-lily to the light 

Her chalice rear'd of silver bright; 

The doe awoke, and to the lawn, 

Begemm'd with dew-drops, led her fawn; 

The gray mist left f the mountain-side, 

The torrent show'd its glistening pride ; 



* See Appendix, Note F. 

f MS. : "The doe awoke, and to the lawn 

Begemm'd with dewdrops, led her fawn, 
Invisible in fleecy cloud, 
The lark sent down her matins loud ; 
The light mist left," etc. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 99 

Invisible in flecked sky, 

The lark sent down her revelry; 

The blackbird and the speckled thrush 

Good-morrow gave from brake and bush ;* 

In answer coo'd the cushat dove 

Her notes of peace, and rest, and love. 

in. 
No thought of peace, no thought of rest, 
Assuaged the storm in Roderick's breast. 
With sheathed broadsword in his hand, 
Abrupt he paced the islet strand, 
And eyed the rising sun, and laid 
His hand on his impatient blade. 
Beneath a rock, his vassal's caref 
Was prompt the ritual to prepare, 
With deep and deathful meaning fraught ; 
For such Antiquity had taught 
Was preface meet, ere yet abroad 
The Cross of Fire should take its road. 
The shrinking band stood oft aghast 
At the impatient glance he cast; — 
Such glance the mountain eagle threw, 
As, from the cliffs of Benvenue, 
She spread her dark sails on the wind, 
And, high in middle heaven reclined, 
With her broad shadow on the lake, 
Silenced the warblers of the brake. 



■"The green hills 



Are clothed with early blossoms ; through the grass 
The quick- eyed lizard rustles, and the bills 
Of summer birds sing welcome as ye pass." — Childe 
Harold, 
f MS. : "Hard by, his vassal's early care 
The mystic ritual prepare." 



ICO THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

IV. 

A heap of wither'd boughs was piled 

Of juniper and rowan wild, 

Mingled with shivers from the oak, 

Rent by the lightning's recent stroke. 

Brian, the Hermit, by it stood, 

Barefooted, in his frock and hood. 

His grisled beard and matted hair 

Obscured a visage of despair ; 

His naked arms and legs seam'd o'er, 

The scars of frantic penance bore. 

That monk, of savage form and face,* 

The impending danger of his race 

Had drawn from deepest solitude, 

Far in Benharrow's bosom rude. 

Not his the mien of Christian priest, 

But Druid's, from the grave released, 

Whose harden' d heart and eye might brook 

On human sacrifice to look ; 

And much, 'twas said, of heathen lore 

Mix'd in the charms he mutter'd o'er. 

The hallow 'd creed gave only worsef 

And deadlier emphasis of curse. 

No peasant sought that hermit's prayer, 

His cave the pilgrim shunn'd with care; 

The eager hunstman knew his bound, 

And in mid chase call'd off his hound; 

Or if, in lonely glen or strath, 

The desert-dweller met his path, 



* See Appendix, Note G. 

f MS. : " While the bless'd creed gave only worse." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 101 

He pray'd and sign'd the cross between, 
While terror took devotion's mien.* 

v. 
Of Brian's birth strange tales were told.f 



* MS. : "He pray'd with many a cross between, 
And terror took devotion's mien." 

f The legend which follows is not of the author's in- 
vetion. It is possible he may differ from modern critics, 
in supposing that the records of human superstition, if 
peculiar to and characteristic of the country in which 
the scene is laid, are a legitimate subject of poetry. He 
gives, however, a ready assent to the narrower proposi- 
tion which condemns all attempts of an irregular and 
disordered fancy to excite terror, by accumulating a 
train of fantastic and incoherent horrors, whether bor- 
rowed from all countries, and patched upon a narrative 
belonging to one which knew them not, or derived from 
the author's own imagination. In the present case, 
therefore, I appeal to the record which I have tran- 
scribed, with the variation of a very few words, from 
the geographical collections made by the Laird of Mac- 
farlane. I know not whether it be necessary to remark, 
that the miscellaneous concourse of youths and maidens 
on the night and on the spot where the miracle is said to 
have taken place, might, even in a credulous age, have 
somewhat diminished the wonder which accompanied 
the conception of Gilli-Doir-Maghrevollich. 

"There is bot two myles from Inverloghie, the church 
of Kilmalee, in Lochyeld. In ancient tymes there was 
ane church builded upon ane hill, which was above this 
church, which doeth now stand in this toune ; and an- 
cient men doeth say, that there was a battell foughten 
on ane little hill not the tenth part of a mile from this 
church, be certaine men which they did not know what 
they were. And long tyme thereafter, certaine herds of 
that toune, and of the next toune, called Unnatt, both 
wenches and youthes, did on a tyme con veen with others 
on that Hill; and the day being somewhat cold, did 
gather the bones of the dead men that were slayne long 



102 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

His mother watch'd a midnight fold, 
Built deep within a dreary glen, 
Where scatter 'd lay the bones of men, 
In some forgotten battle slain, 
And bleach'd by drifting wind and rain. 
It might have tamed a warrior's heart* 
To view such mockery of his art ! 
The knot-grass fetter' d there the hand, 
Which once could burst an iron band ; 

time before in that place, and did make a fire to warm 
them. At last they did all remove from the fire, except 
one maid or wench, which was verie cold, and she did 
remain there for a space. She being quyetlie her alone, 
without anie other companie, took up her cioaths above 
her knees, or thereby, to warm her ; a wind did come and 
caste the ashes upon her, and she was conceived of ane 
man-chyld. Severall tymes thereafter she was verie sick, 
and at last she was knowne to be with chyld. And then 
her parents did ask at her the matter heirofT, which the 
wench could not weel answer which way to satisfie them. 
At last she resolved them with ane answer. As fortune 
fell upon her concerning this marvellous miracle, the 
chyld being borne, his name was called Gilli-Doir- 
Maghrevoliich, that is to say, the Black Child, Son to 
the Bones. So called, his grandfather sent him to 
school, and so he was a good schollar, and godlie. He 
did build this church which doeth now stand in Loch- 
yeld, called Kilmalee." — Macfarlane, ut supra, ii. iSS. 

* "There is something of pride in the perilous hour, 
Whate'er be the shape in which death may lower ; 
For Fame is there to say who bleeds, 
And Honor's eye on daring deeds ! 
But when all is past, it is humbling to tread 
O'er the weltering field of the tombless dead, 
And see worms of the earth, and fowls of the air, 
Beasts of the forest, all gathering there ; 
All regarding man as their prey, 
All rejoicing in his decay." 

— Byron's Siege of Corinth. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 103 

Beneath the broad and ample bone, 
That buckler'd heart to fear unknown, 
A feeble and a timorous guest, 
The field- fare framed her lowly nest; 
There the slow blind-worm left his slime 
On the fleet limbs that mock'd at time; 
And there, too, lay the leader's skull,* 
Still wreath'd with chaplet, flushed and full 
For heath-bell, with her purple bloom, 
Supplied the bonnet and the plume, f 
All night, in this sad glen, the maid 
Sate, shrouded in her mantle's shade: 
She said no shepherd sought her side, 
No hunter's hand her snood untied, 
Yet ne'er again to braid her hair 
The virgin snood did Alice wear; J 



* "Remove yon skull from out the scattered heaps. 
Is that a temple where a God may dwell? 
Why, even the worm at last disdains her shattered 

cell. 
Look on its broken arch, its ruin'd wall, 
Its chambers desolate, and portals foul ; 
Yet this was once Ambition's airy hall, 
The dome of Thought, the palace of the Soul: 
Behold through each lack-lustre, eyeless hole, 
The gay recess of Wisdom and of Wit, 
And Passion's host, that never brook'd control: 
Can all saint, sage, or sophist ever writ, 
People this lonely tower, this tenement refit?" 

— Childe Harold. 
f "These reflections on an ancient field of battle afford 
the most remarkable instance of false taste in all Mr. 
Scott's writings. Yet the brevity and variety of the 
images serve well to shew, that even in his errors there 
are traces of a powerful genius." — Jeffrey. 

X The snood, or riband, with which a Scottish lass 
braided her hair, had an emblematical signification, and 



104 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Gone was her maiden glee and sport, 
Her maiden girdle all too short, 
Nor sought she, from that fatal night, 
Or holy church or blessed rite, 
But lock'd her secret in her breast, 
And died in travail, unconfess'd. 

VI. 

Along among his young compeers, 
Was Brian from his infant years; 
A moody and heart-broken boy, 
Estranged from sympathy and joy, 
Bearing each taunt which careless tongue 
On his mysterious lineage flung. 
Whole nights he spent by moonlight pale 
To wood and stream his hap to wail, 
Till, frantic, he as truth received* 
What of his birth the crowd believed, 
And sought, in mist and meteor fire, 
To meet and know his Phantom Sire ! 



applied to her maiden character. It was exchanged for 
the curch, toy, or coif, when she passed, by marriage, 
into the matron state. But if the damsel was so unfor- 
tunate as to lose pretensions to the name of maiden, 
without gaining a right to that of matron, she was nei- 
ther permitted to use the snood, nor advanced to the 
graver dignity of the curch. In old Scottish songs there 
occur many sly allusions to such misfortune ; as in the 
old words to the popular tune of "Ower the muir amang 
the heather. ' ' 

"Down amang the broom, the broom, 
Down amang the broom, my dearie, 
The lassie lost her silken snood, 
That gard her greet till she was wearie." 
*MS. : "Till driven to frenzy, he believed 
The legend of his birth received.' ' 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 105 

In vain, to soothe his wayward fate, 

The cloister oped her pitying gate ; 

In vain, the learning of the age 

Unclasp'd the sable-letter'd page: 

Even in its treasures he could find 

Food for the fever of his mind. 

Eager he read whatever tells 

Of magic, cabala, and spells, 

And every dark pursuit allied 

To curious and presumptuous pride ; 

Till with fired brain and nerves o'erstrung, 

And heart with mystic horrors wrung, 

Desperate he sought Benharrow's den, 

And hid him from the haunts of men. 

VII. 

The desert gave him visions wild, 
Such as might suit the spectre's child.* 



* In adopting the legend concerning the birth of the 
Founder of the Church of Kilmalee, the author has en- 
deavored to trace the effects which such a belief was 
likely to produce, in a barbarous age, on the person to 
whom it related. It seems likely that he must have be- 
come a fanatic or an impostor, or that mixture of both 
which forms a more frequent character than either of 
them as existing separately. In truth, mad persons are 
frequently more anxious to impress upon others a faith 
in their visions, than they are themselves confirmed in 
their reality ; as, on the other hand, it is difficult for the 
most cool-headed impostor long to personate an enthu- 
siast, without in some degree believing what he is so 
eager to have believed. It was a natural attribute of 
such a character as the supposed hermit, that he should 
credit the numerous superstitions with which the minds 
of ordinary Highlanders are almost always imbued. A 
few of these are slightly alluded to in this stanza. The 
River Demon, or River-horse, for it is that form which 



106 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Where with black cliffs the torrents toil, 

He watch 'd the wheeling eddies boil, 

Till, from their foam, his dazzled eyes 

Beheld the River Demon rise ; 

The mountain mist took form and limb, 

Of noontide hag, or goblin grim ; 

The midnight wind came wild and dread, 

Sweird with the voices of the dead; 

Far on the future battle-heath 

His eye beheld the ranks of death: 

Thus the lone Seer, from mankind hurl'd, 

Shaped forth a disembodied world. 

One lingering sympathy of mind 

Still bound him to the mortal kind; 

The only parent he could claim 

Of ancient Alpine's lineage came. 



he commonly assumes, is the Kelpy of the Lowlands, an 
evil and malicious spirit, delighting to forbode and to 
witness calamity. He frequents most Highland lakes 
and rivers ; and one of his most memorable exploits was 
performed upon the banks of Loch Vennachar, in the 
very district which forms the scene of our action: it con- 
sisted in the destruction of a funeral procession with all 
its attendants. The "noontide hag," called in Gaelic 
Glas-lich, a tall, emaciated, gigantic female figure, is 
supposed in particular to haunt the district of Knoidart. 
A goblin dressed in antique armor, and having one hand 
covered with blood, called from that circumstance, 
Lham-dearg, or Red-hand, is a tenant of the forests of 
Glenmore and Rothiemurcus. Other spirits of the des- 
ert, all frightful in shape and malignant in disposition, 
are believed to frequent different mountains and glens 
of the Highlands, where any unusual appearance, pro- 
duced by mist, or the strange lights that are sometimes 
thrown upon particular objects, never fails to present an 
apparition to the imagination of the solitary and melan- 
choly mountaineer. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. '10? 

Late had he heard, in prophet's dream, 
The fatal Ben-Shie's boding scream;* 
Sounds, too, that come in midnight blast, 
Of charging steeds, careering fast 
Along Benharrow's shingly side, 
Where mortal horseman ne'er might ride;f 
The thunderbolt had split the pine, — 
All augur'd ill to Alpine's line. 
He girt his loins, and came to show 
The signals of impending woe, 
And now stood prompt to bless or ban, 
As bade the Chieftain of his clan. 

* MS. : "The fatal Ben-Shie's dismal scream; 
And seen her winkled form, the sign 
Of woe and death to Alpine's line." 

Most great families in the Highlands were supposed 
to have a tutelar, or rather a domestic spirit, attached 
to them, who took an interest in their prosperity, and 
intimated, by its wailings, any approaching disaster. 
That of Grant of Grant was called May Moullach, and 
appeared in the form of a girl, who had her arm covered 
with hair. Grant of Rothiemurcus had an attendant 
called Bodach-an-dun, or the Ghost of the Hill; and 
many other examples might be mentioned. The Ben- 
Shie implies a female Fairy, whose lamentations were 
often supposed to precede the death of a chieftain of 
particular families. When she is visible, it is in the 
form of an old woman, with a blue mantle and stream- 
ing hair. A superstition of the same kind is, I believe, 
universally received by the inferior ranks of the native 
Irish. 

The death of the head of a Highland family is also 
sometimes supposed to be announced by a chain of lights 
of different colors, called Dr'eug, or death of the Druid. 
The direction which it takes, marks the place of the 
funeral. See the Essay on Fairy Superstitions in the 
Border Minstrelsy. 

| See Appendix, Note H. 



108 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

VIII. 

'Twas all prepar'd; — and from the rock, 
A goat, the patriarch of the flock, 
Before the kindling pile was laid, 
And pierced by Roderick's ready blade, 
Patient the sickening victim eyed 
The life-blood ebb in crimson tide, 
Down his clogg'd beard and shaggy limb, 
Till darkness glazed his eyeballs dim. 
The grisly priest, with murmuring prayer, 
A slender crosslet fram'd with care, 
A cubit's length in measure due; 
The shaft and limbs were rods of yew, 
Whose parents in Inch-Cailliach wave* 
Their shadows o'er Clan-Alpine's grave, 
And answering Lomond's breezes deep, 
Soothe many a chieftain's endless sleep, 



* Inch-Cailliach, the Isle of Nuns, or of Old Women, 
is a most beautiful island at the lower extremity of 
Loch Lomond. The church belonging to the former 
nunnery was long used as the place of worship for the 
parish of Buchanan, but scarce any vestiges of it now 
remain. The burial-ground continues to be used, and 
contains the family places of sepulture of several neigh- 
boring clans. The monuments of the lairds of Mac- 
gregor, and of other families, claiming a descent from 
the old Scottish King Alpine, are most remarkable. 
The Highlanders are as zealous of their rights of sepul- 
ture as may be expected from a people whose whole 
laws and government, if clanship can be called so, 
turned upon the single principle of family descent. 

"May his ashes be scattered on the water," was one 
of the deepest and most solemn imprecations which 
they used against an enemy. See a detailed descrip- 
tion of the funeral ceremonies of a Highland chieftain 
in the "Fair Maid of Perth," Waverley Novels, vol. 43, 
chaps, x. and xi. New Edit. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 109 

The Cross, thus form'd, he held on high, 
With wasted hand, and haggard eye, 
And strange and mingled feelings woke, 
While his anathema he spoke : — 

IX. 

"Woe to the clansman who shall view 
This symbol of sepulchral yew, 
Forgetful that its branches grew 
Where weep the heavens their holiest dew 

On Alpine's dwelling low! 
Deserter of his Chieftain's trust, 
He ne'er shall mingle with their dust, 
But, from his sires and kindred thrust, 
Each clansman's execration just,* 

Shall doom him wrath and woe." 
He paused; — the word the vassals took, 
With forward step and fiery look, 
On high their naked brands they shook, 
Their clattering targets wildly strook;f 

And first in murmur low, 
Then, like the billow in his course, 
That far to seaward finds his source, 
And flings to shore his muster'd force, 
Burst, with loud roar, their answer hoarse, 

"Woe to the traitor, woe!" 
Ben-an's gray scalp the accents knew, 
The joyous wolf from covert drew, 
The 'exulting eagle scream'd afar, — 
They knew the voice of Alpine's war. 



* MS. : "Our warriors, on his worthless bust, 
Shall speak disgrace and woe." 

fMS. : "Their clattering targets hardly strook: 
And first they mutter'd low." 



110 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



The shout was hush'd on lake and fell 
The monk resumed his mutter'd spell: 
Dismal and low its accents came, 
The while he scathed the Cross with flame; 
And the few words that reach'd the air, 
Although the holiest name was there,* 
Had more of blasphemy than prayer. 

But when he shook above the crowd 
Its kindled points, he spoke aloud : — 
44 Woe to the wretch who fails to rear 
At this dread sign the ready spear! 
For, as the flames this symbol sear, 
His home, the refuge of his fear, 

A kindred fate shall know ; 
Far o'er its roof the volumed flame 
Clan-Alpine's vengeance shall proclaim, 
While maids and matrons on his name 
Shall call down wretchedness and shame, 

And infamy and woe." 
Then rose the cry of females, shrill 
As goshawk's whistle on the hill, 
Denouncing misery and ill, 
Mingled with childhood's babbling trill 

Of curses stammer'd slow: 
Answering, with imprecation dread, 
44 Sunk be his home in embers red! 
And cursed be the meanest shed 
That e'er shall hide the houseless head 

We doom to want and woe!" 
A sharp and shrieking echo gave 



MS. : ''Although the holy name was there." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Ill 

Coir-Uriskin, thy goblin cave! 
And the gray pass where birches wave, 
On Beala-nam-bo. 



XI. 

Then deeper paused the priest anew, 
And hard his laboring breath he drew, 
While, with set teeth and clenched hand, 
And eyes that glow'd like fiery brand, 
He meditated curse more dread, 
And deadlier, on the clansman's head, 
Who, summon'd to his Chieftain's aid 
The signal saw and disobey'd. 
The crosslets's points of sparkling wood 
He quench'd among the bubbling blood, 
And, as again the sign he rear'd, 
Hollow and hoarse his voice was heard : 
" When flits this Cross from man to man, 
Vich- Alpine's summons to his clan, 
Burst be the ear that fails to heed ! 
Palsied the foot that shuns to speed! 
May ravens tear the careless eyes, 
Wolves make the coward heart their prize! 
As sinks that blood-stream in the earth, 
So may his heart's-blood drench his hearth! 
As dies in hissing gore the spark, 
Quench thou his light, Destruction dark ! 
And be the grace to him denied, 
Bought by this sign to all beside V* 
He ceased ; no echo gave again 
The murmur of the deep Amen.* 

* MS.: "The slowly mutter'd deep Amen." 



112 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XII. 

Then Roderick, with impatient look, 

From Brian's hand the symbol took; 

4 'Speed, Malise, speed !" he said, and gave 

The crosslet to his henchman brave. 

"The muster-place be Lanrick mead — * 

Instant the time — speed Malise, speed!" 

Like heath-bird, when the hawks pursue, 

A barge across Loch Katrine flew ; 

High stood the henchman on the prow ; 

So rapidly the barge-men row, 

The bubbles, where they launch'd the boat 

Were all unbroken and afloat, 

Dancing in foam and ripple still, 

When it had near'd the mainland hill; 

And from the silver beach's side 

Still was the prow three fathom wide, 

When lightly bounded to the land 

This messenger of blood and brand. 

XIII. 

Speed, Malise, speed! the dun deer's hide f 



* MS. : "Murlagan is the spot decreed." 

f The present brogue of the Highlanders is made of 
half-dried leather, with holes to admit and let out the 
water; for walking the moors dry-shod is a matter 
altogether out of question. The ancient buskin was 
still ruder, being made of undressed deer's hide, with 
the hair outwards : a circumstance which procured the 
Highlanders the well-known epithet of Red-shanks. 
The process is very accurately described by one Elder 
(himself a Highlander) in the project for a union be- 
tween England and Scotland, addressed to Henry VIII. 
"We go a-hunting, and after that we have slain red- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 113 

On fleeter foot was never tied. 

Speed, Malise, speed ! such cause of haste 

Thine active sinews never braced. 

Bend 'gainst the steepy hill thy breast, 

Burst down like torrent from its crest; 

With short and springing footstep pass 

The trembling bog and false morass ; 

Across the brook like roebuck bound, 

And thread the break like questing hound; 

The crag is high, the scaur is deep, 

Yet shrink not from the desperate leap: 

Parch' d are thy burning lips and brow, 

Yet by the fountain pause not now; 

Herald of battle, fate, and fear,* 

Stretch onward in thy fleet career! 

The wounded hind thou track'st not now, 

Pursuest not maid through greenwood bough „ 

Nor pliest thou now thy flying pace, 



deer, we flay off the skin by and by, and setting of onr 
bare-foot on the inside thereof, for want of cunning in 
shoemakers, by your grace's pardon, we play the cob- 
blers, compassing and measuring so much thereof as 
shall reach up to our ankles, pricking the upper part 
thereof with holes, that the water may repass where it 
enters, and stretching it up with a strong thong of the 
same above our said ankles. So, and please your 
noble grace, make our shoes. Therefore, we using 
such manner of shoes, the rough hairy side outwards, 
in your grace's dominions of England, we be called 
Rough-footed Scots." — Pinkerton's History, vol. ii. p. 
397- 

* MS. : "Dread messenger of fate and fear, ) 
Herald of danger, fate and fear, ) 
Stretch onward in thy fleet career ! 
Thou track's not now the striken doe, 
Nor maiden coy through greenwood bough." 



114 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

With rivals in the mountain race ; 
But danger, death, and warrior deed 
Are in thy course — speed, Malise, speed! 

XIV. 

Fast as the fatal symbol flies, 
In arms the huts and hamlets rise ; 
From winding glen, from upland brown, 
They pour'd each hardy tenant down. 
Nor slack'd the messenger his pace; 
He show'd the sign, he named the place, 
And, pressing forward like the wind 
Left clamor and surprise behind,* 
The fisherman forsook the strand, 
The swarthy smith took dirk and brand; 
With changed cheer, the mower blithe 
Left in the half-cut swathe the scythe ; 
The herds without a keeper strayed, 
The plough was in the furrow stayed, 
The falconer toss'd his hawk away, 
The hunter left the stag at bay; 
Prompt at the signal of alarms, 
Each son of Alpine rush'd to arms; 
So swept the tumult and affray 
Along the margin of Achray. 
Alas, thou lovely lake! that e'er 
Thy banks should echo sounds of fear! 
The rocks, the bosky thickets, sleep 
So stilly on thy bosom deep, 



* "The description of the starting of the Fiery Cross 
bears more marks of labor than most of Mr. Scott's 
poetry, and borders, perhaps, upon straining and exag- 
geration; yet it shows great power." — Jeffrey. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 115 

The lark's blithe carol, from the cloud, 
Seems for the scene too gayly loud.* 

xv. 

Speed, Malise, speed! the lake is past, 

Duncraggan's huts appear at last, 

And peep, like moss-grown rocks, half seen, 

Half hidden in the copse so green; 

There mayst thou rest, thy labor done, 

Their Lord shall speed the signal on. — 

As stoops the hawk upon his prey, 

The henchman shot him down the way. 

— What woeful accents load the gale? 

The funeral yell, the female wail ! f 

A gallant hunter's sport is o'er, 

A valiant warrior fights no more. 

Who, in the battle or the chase, 

At Roderick's side shall fill his place ! — 

Within the hall, where torches' ray 

Supplies the excluded beams of day, 

Lies Duncan on his lowly bier, 

And o'er him streams his widow's tear. 

His stripling son stands mournful by, 

His youngest weeps, but knows not why! 

The village maids and matrons round 

The dismal coronach resound. J 

* MS. : "Seems all too lively and too loud." 
f MS.: 4< 'Tis woman's scream, 'tis childhood's wail.*' 
% The Coronach of the Highlanders, like the Ululatus 
of the Romans and the Ululoo of the Irish, was a wild 
expression of lamentation, poured forth by the mourn- 
ers over the body of a departed friend. When the 
words of it were articulate, they expressed the praises 
of the deceased, and the loss the clan would sustain by 
his death. The following is a lamentation of this kind, 



1.16 THE LADY OF THE LAKE 

XVI. 
CORONACH. 

He is gone on the mountain, 

He is lost to the forest, 
Like a summer-dried fountain, 

When our need was the sorest. 
The font, reappearing. 

From the rain-drops shall borrow, 
But to us comes no cheering, 

To Duncan no morrow ! 

The hand of the reaper 

Takes the ears that are hoary, 



literally translated from the Gaelic, to some of the 
ideas of which the text stands indebted. The tune is 
so popular that it has since become the war-march, or 
Gathering of the clan. 

CORONACH ON SIR LAUCHLAN, CHIEF OF MACLEAN. 

"Which of all the Senachies 
Can trace thy line from the root up to Paradise, 
But Macvuirih, the son of Fergus? 
No sooner had thine ancient stately tree 
Taken firm root in Albin, 
Than one of thy forefathers fell at Harlaw. 
'Twas then we lost a chief of deathless name. 

" 'Tis no base weed— no planted tree, 
Nor a seedling of last Autumn; 
Nor a sapling planted at Beltain; 
Wide, wide around were spread its lofty branches— 
But the topmost bow is lowly laid! 
Thou hast forsaken us before Sawaine. 

"Thy dwelling is the winter house;— 
Loud, sad, and mighty is thy death-song.' 
Oh! courteous champion of Montrose! 
Oh! stately warrior of the Celtic Isles! 
Thou shalt buckle thy harness on no more!" 

The coronach has for some time past been super- 
seded at funerals by the use of the bagpipe ; and that 
also is, like many other Highland peculiarities, falling 
into disuse unless in remote districts. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 117 

But the voice of the weeper 

Wails manhood in glory. 
The autumn winds rushing 

Waft the leaves that are searest, 
But our flower was in flushing, 

When blighting was nearest. 

Fleet foot on the correi,* 

Sage counsel in cumber, 
Red hand in the foray, 

How sound is thy slumber! 
Like the dew on the mountain, 

Like the foam on the river, 
Like the bubble on the fountain, 

Thou art gone, and for ever! f 

XVII. 

See Stumah,J who, the bier beside, 
His master's corpse with wonder eyed, 

* Or corri. The hollow side of the hill, where game, 
usually lies. 

f "Mr. Scott is such a master of versification that the 
most complicated metre does not for an instant arrest 
the progress of his imagination ; its difficulties usually 
operate as a salutary excitement to his attention, and 
not unfrequently suggest to him new and unexpected 
graces of expression. If a careless rhyme or an ill-con- 
structed phrase occasionally escape him amidst the 
irregular torrent of his stanza, the blemish is often im- 
perceptible by the hurried eye of the reader ; but when 
the short lines are yoked in pairs, any dissonance in 
the jingle, or interruption of the construction, cannot 
fail to give offence. We learn from Horace, that in 
the course of a long work, a poet may legitimately in- 
dulge in a momentary slumber ; but we do not wish to 
hear him snore." — Quarterly Review. 

% Faithful. The name of a dog. 



118 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Poor Stumah ! whom his least halloo 
Could send like lightning o'er the dew, 
Bristles his crest, and points his ears, 
As if some stranger step he hears. 
'Tis not a mourner's muffled tread, 
Who comes to sorrow o'er the dead, 
But headlong haste, or deadly fear, 
Urge the precipitate career. 
All stand aghast: — unheeding all, 
The henchman bursts into the hail; 
Before the dead man's bier he stood; 
Held forth the cross, besmear'd with blood 
4 'The muster-place is Lanrick mead; 
Speed forth the signal ! clansmen, speed!" 

XVIII. 

Angus, the heir of Duncan's line,* 
Sprung forth and seized the fatal sign. 
In haste the stripling to his side 
His father's dirk and broadside tied; 
But when he saw his mother's eye 
Watch him in speechless agony, 
Back to her open'd arms he flew, 
Press'd on her lips a fond adieu — 
"AlasP'she sobb'd, — "and yet, be gone 
And speed thee forth, like Duncan's son!" 
One look he cast upon the bier, 

* MS. : "Angus, the first of Duncan's line, 

Sprung forth and seized the fatal sign, 
And then upon his kinsman's bier 
Fell Malise's suspended tear. 
In haste the stripling to his side 
His father's targe and falchion tied." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 119 

Dash'd from his eye the gathering tear, 

Breathed deep to clear his laboring breast, 

And tossed aloft his bonnet crest, 

Then, like the high-bred colt, when, freed, 

First he essays his fire and speed, 

He vanish 'd, and o'er moor and moss 

Sped forward with the Fiery Cross. 

Suspended was the widow's tear, 

While yet his footsteps she could hear; 

And when she mark'd the henchman's eye 

Wet with unwonted sympathy, 

4 * Kinsman," she said, "his race is run, 

That should have sped thine errand on ; 

The oak has fall'n — the sapling bough 

Is all Duncraggan's shelter now. 

Yet trust I well, his duty done, 

The orphan's God will guard my son. — 

And you, in many a danger true, 

At Duncan's hest your blades that drew, 

To arms, and guard that orphan's head! 

Let babes and women wail the dead. ' ' 

Then weapon-clang and martial call 

Resounded through the funeral hall, 

While from the walls the attendant band 

Snatch'd sword and targe, with hurried hand ; 

And short and flitting energy 

Glanced from the mourner's sunken eye, 

As if the sounds to warrior dear 

Might rouse her Duncan from his bier. 

But faded soon that borrow'd force; 

Grief claim'd his right, and tears their course. 



120 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XIX. 

Benledi saw the Cross of Fire, 
It glanced like lightning tip Strath-Ire.* 
O'er dale and hill the summons flew, 
Nor rest nor pause young Angus knew; 
The tear that gathered in his eye 
He left the mountain breeze to dry; 
Until, where Teith's young waters roll, 
Betwixt him and a wooded knoll, f 

* Inspection of the provincial map of Perthshire, or 
any large map of Scotland, will trace the progress of 
the signal through the small districts of lakes and 
mountains, which, in exercise of my poetical privilege, 
I have subjected to the authority of my imaginary 
chieftain, and which, at the period of my romance, was 
really occupied by a clan who claimed a descent from 
Alpine, a clan the most unfortunate, and most perse- 
cuted, but neither the least distinguished, least power- 
ful, nor least brave, of the tribes of the Gael. 

"Slioch non rioghridh duchaisach 
Bha-shios an Dun-Staiobhinish 
Aigf an roubh crun na Halba othus 
'Stag a cheil duchas fast ris." 

The first stage of the Fiery Cross is to Duncraggan, 
a place near the Brigg of Turk, where a short stream 
divides Loch Achray from Loch Vennachar. From 
thence, it passes towards Callander, and then, turning 
to the left up the pass of Leny, is consigned to Nor- 
man at the chapel of Saint Bride, which stood on a 
small and romantic knoll, in the middle of the valley, 
called Strath-Ire. Tombea and Arnandave, or Ardman- 
dave, are names of places in the vicinity. The alarm 
is then supposed to pass along the Lake of Lubnaig, 
and through the various glens in the district of Balqu- 
hidder, including the neighboring tracts of Glen finlas 
and Strath-Gartney. 

f MS. : "And where a steep and wooded knoll 

Graced the dark strath with emerald green." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 121 

That graced the sable strath with green, 

The chapel of St. Bride was seen. 

Swoln was the stream, remote the bridge, 

But Angus paused not on the edge ; 

Though the dark waves danced dizzily, 

Though reeVd his sympathetic eye, 

He dash'd amid the torrent's roar: 

His right hand high the crosslet bore, 

His left the pole-axe grasp'd, to guide 

And stay his footing in the tide. 

He stumbled twice; — the foam splash* d high. 

With hoarser swell the stream raced by; 

And had he fall'n, — forever there, 

Farewell, Duncraggan's orphan heir! 

But still, as if in parting life, 

Firmer he grasp'd the Cross of strife, 

Until the opposing bank he gain'd, 

And up the chapel pathway strain'd. 

xx. 

A blithesome rout, that morning tide, 
Had sought the chapel of St. Bride. 
Her troth Tombea's Mary gave 
To Norman, heir of Armandave, 
And, issuing from the Gothic arch, 
The bridal now resumed their march. 
In rude but glad procession came 
Bonneted sire and coif-clad dame ; 
And plaided youth, with jest and jeer, 
Which snooded maiden would not hear; 
And children, that, unwitting- why, 
Lent the gay shout their shrilly cry; 
And minstrels, that in measures vied 



122 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Before the young and bonny bride, 
Whose downcast eye and cheek disclose 
The tear and blush of morning rose. 
With virgin step, and bashful hand, 
She held the kerchief's snowy band; 
The gallant bridegroom by her side, 
Beheld his prize with victor's pride, 
And the glad mother in her ear 
Was closely whispering words of cheer. 

XXI. 

Who meets them at the churchyard gate? 

The messenger of fear and fate ! 

Haste in his hurried accent lies, 

And grief is swimming in his eyes 

All gripping from the recent flood, 

Panting and travel-soil'd he stood, 

The fatal sign of fire and sword 

Held forth, and spoke the appointed word 

"The muster-place is Lanrick mead; 

Speed forth the signal! Norman, speed !" 

And must he change so soon the hand,* 

Just link'd to his by holy band, 

For the fell Cross of blood and brand? 

And must the day, so blithe that rose, 

And promised rapture in the close, 

Before its setting hour, divide 

The bridegroom from the plighted bride? 

O fatal doom ! — it must ! it must ! 

Clan- Alpine's cause, her Chieftain's trust, 

Her summons dread, brook no delay; 

Stretch to the race — away! away! 

* MS. : "And must he then exchange the hand." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 123 

XXII. 

Yet slow lie laid his plaid aside, 

And lingering eyed his lovely bride, 

Until he saw the starting tear 

Speak woe he might not stop to cheer; 

Then, trusting not a second look, 

In haste he sped him tip the brook, 

Nor backward glanced, till on the heath 

Where Lubnaig's lake supplies the Teith. 

— What in the racer's bosom stirr'd? 

The sickening pang of hope deferr'd, 

And memory, with a torturing train,* 

Of all his morning visions vain. 

Mingled with love's impatience, came 

The manly thirst for martial fame; 

The stormy joy of mountaineers, 

Ere yet they rush upon the spears ; 

And zeal for Clan and Chieftain burning, 

And hope, from well-fought field returning, 

With war's red honors on his crest, 

To clasp his Mary to his breast. 

Stung by such thoughts, o'er bank and brae, 

Like fire from flint he glanced away, 

While high resolve, and feeling strong, 

Burst into voluntary song. 



* MS. : "And memory brought the torturing train 
Of all his morning visions vain ; 
But mingled with impatience came 
The manly love of martial fame. ' ' 



124 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXIII. 
SONG. 

The heath this night must be my bed, 
The bracken* curtain for my head, 
My lullaby the warder's tread. 

Far, far, from love and thee, Mary: 
To-morrow eve, more stilly laid, 
My couch may be my bloody plaid, 
My vesper song, thy wail, sweet maid ! 

It will not waken me, Mary! 
I may not, dare not, fancy now f 
The grief that clouds thy lovely brow, 
I dare not think upon thy vow, 

And all it promised me, Mary, 
No fond regret must Norman know, 
When bursts Clan- Alpine on the foe, 
His heart must be liked bended bow, 

His foot like arrow free, Mary. 
A time will come with feeling fraught, 
For, if I fall in battle fought, 
Thy hapless lover's dying thought 
Shall be a thought on thee, Mary. J 
And if return'd from conquer'd foes, 
How blithely will the evening close, 
How sweet the linnet sing repose, 

To my young bride and me, Mary! 

* Bracken. — Fern. 

f MS. : "I may not, dare not, image now." 

% MS. : "A time will come for love and faith, 

For should thy bridegroom yield his breath, 
'Twill cheer him in the hour of death, 

The boasted right to thee, Mary." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 125 

XXIV. 

Not faster o'er thy heathery braes, 
Balquidder, speeds the midnight blaze,* 
Rushing, in conflagration strong, 
Thy deep ravines and dells along, 
Wrapping thy cliffs in purple glow, 
And reddening the dark lakes below; 
Nor faster speeds it, nor so far, 
As o'er thy heaths the voice of war.f 
The signal roused to martial coil 
The sullen margin of Loch Voil, 
Waked still Loch Doine, and to the source 
Alarm'd, Balvaig, thy swampy course; 
Then southward turn'd its rapid road 
Adown Strath-Gartney's valley broad, 
Till rose in arms each man might claim 
A portion in Clan-Alpine's name, 
From the gray sire, whose trembling hand 
Could hardly buckle on his brand, 
To the raw boy, whose shaft and bow 
Were yet scarce terror to the crow. 
Each valley, each sequester' d glen, 

* It may be necesssary to inform the southern reader 
that the heath on the Scottish moorlands is often set fire 
to, that the sheep may have the advantage of the young 
herbage produced, in room of the tough old heather 
plants. This custom (execrated by sportsmen) produces 
occasionally the most beautiful nocturnal appearances, 
similar almost to the discharge of a volcano. This sim- 
ile is not new to poetry. The charge of a warrior, in the 
fine ballad of Hardyknute, is said to be "like fire to 
heather set." 

f "The eager fidelity with which this fatal signal is 
hurried on and obeyed is represented with great spirit 
and felicity." — Jeffrey. 



126 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Muster'd its little horde of men, 

That met as torrents from the height 

In Highland dales their streams unite, 

Still gathering, as they pour along, 

A voice more loud, a tide more strong, 

Till at the rendezvous they stood 

By hundreds prompt for blows and blood; 

Each train 'd to arms since life began, 

Owning no tie but to his clan, 

No oath, but by his chieftain's hand, 

No law, but Roderick Dhu's command.* 



* The deep and implicit respect paid by the Highland 
clansmen to their chief, rendered this both a common 
and a solemn oath. In other respects they were like 
most savage nations, capricious in their ideas concern- 
ing the obligatory power of oaths. One solemn mode 
of swearing was by kissing the dirk, imprecating upon 
themselves death by that, or a similar weapon, if they 
broke their vow. But for oaths in the usual form they 
are said to have paid little respect. As for the rever- 
ence due to the chief, it may be guessed from the fol- 
lowing odd example of a Highland point of honor: — 

"The clan whereto the above-mentioned tribe belongs 
is the only one 1 have heard of which is without a 
chief; that is, being divided into families, under several 
chieftains, without any particular patriarch of the whole- 
name. And this is a great reproach, as may appear 
from an affair that fell out at my table, in the High- 
lands, between one of that name and a Cameron. The 
provocation given by the latter was — 'Name your chief.' 
— The return of it at once was — 'You are a fool.' They 
went out next morning, but having early notice of it, I 
sent a small party of soldiers after them, which, in all 
probability, prevented some barbarous mischief that 
might have ensued ; for the chiefless Highlander, who is 
himself a petty chieftain, was going to the place ap- 
pointed with a small-sword and a pistol, whereas the 
Cameron (an old man) took with him only his broad- 
sword, according to the agreement. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 127 

XXV. 

That summer morn had Roderick Dhtt, 

Survey'd the skirts of Benvenue, 

And sent his scouts o'er hill and heath, 

To view the frontiers of Menteith. 

And backward came with news of truce; 

Still lay each martial Graeme and Bruce, 

In Rednoch courts no horsemen wait, 

No banner waved on Cardross gate, 

On Duchray's towers no beacon shone, 

Nor scared the herons from Loch Con ; 

All seem'd at peace. — Now, wot ye why 

The Chieftain, with such anxious eye, 

Ere to the muster he repair, 

This western frontier scann'd with care? — 

In Benvenue's most darksome cleft, 

A fair though cruel, pledge was left : 

For Douglas, to his promise true, 

That morning from the isle withdrew, 

And in deep sequester'd dell 

Had sought a low and lonely cell. 

By many a bard, in Celtic tongue, 

Has Coir-nan-Uriskin been sung:* 

"When all was over, and I had, at least seemingly, 
reconciled them, I was told the words, of which I 
seemed to think but slightly, were, to one of the clan, 
the greatest of all provocations." — Letters from Scot- 
land, vol. ii. p. 221. 

* This is a very steep and most romantic hollow in the 
mountain of Benvenue, overhanging the southeastern 
extremity of Loch Katrine. It is surrounded with 
stupendous rocks, and overshadowed with birch trees, 
mingled with oaks, the spontaneous production of the 
mountain, even where its cliffs appear denuded of soil. 
A dale in so wild a situation, and amid a people whose 



128 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

A softer name the Saxons gave, 
And caird the grot the Goblin-cave. 

xxvi. 
It was a wild and strange retreat, 
As e'er was trod by outlaw's feet. 

genius bordered on the romantic, did not remain without 
appropriate deities. The name literally implies the 
Corri, or Den, of the Wild or Shaggy Men. Perhaps 
this, as conjectured by Mr. Alexander Campbell, may 
have originally only implied its being the haunt of a 
ferocious banditti. But tradition has ascribed to the 
Urisk, who gives name to the cavern, a figure between 
a goat and a man ; in short, however much the classical 
reader may be startled, precisely that of the Grecian 
Satyr. The Urisk seems not to have inherited, with the 
form, the petulance of the sylvan deity of the classics; 
his occupation, on the contrary, resembled those of Mil- 
ton's Lubber-Fiend, or of the Scottish Brownie, though 
he differed from both in name and appearance. "The 
Urisks," says Dr. Graham, "were a set of lubberly 
supernaturals, who, like the Brownies, could be gained 
over, by kind attention, to perform the drudgery of the 
farm, and it was believed that many of the families in 
the Highlands had one of the order attached to it. They 
were supposed to be dispersed over the Highlands, each 
in his own wild recess, but the solemn stated meetings 
of the order were regularly held in this Cave of Ben- 
venue. This current superstition, no doubt, alludes to 
some circumstance in the ancient history of this 
country." — Scenery on the Southern Confines" of Perth- 
shire, p. 19, 1806. It must be owned that the Coir, or 
Den, does not, in its present state, meet our ideas of 
a subterraneous grotto, or cave, being only a small 
and narrow cavity, among huge fragments of rocks 
rudely piled together. But such a scene is liable to 
convulsions of nature which a Lowlander cannot esti- 
mate, and which may have choked up what was origi- 
nally a cavern. At least the name and tradition warrant 
the author of a fictitious tale to assert its having been 
such at the remote period in which this scene is laid. 




" A single page, to bear his sword."— Page 18(3. 

The Lady of the Lake. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 129 

The dell upon the mountain crest, 
Yawn'd like a gash on warrior's breast; 
Its trench had stay'd full many a rock, 
Hurl'd by primeval earthquake chock 
From Benvenue's gray ruin piled, 
And here, in random ruin piled, 
They frown'd incumbent o'er the spot 
And form'd the rugged sylvan grot.* 
The oak and birch, with mingled shade, 
At noontide there a twilight made, 
Unless when short and sudden shone 
Some straggling beam on cliff or stone, 
With such a glimpse as prophet's eye 
Gains on thy depth, Futurity. 
No murmur waked the solemn still, 
Save tinkling of a fountain rill; 
But when the wind chafed with the lake, 
A sullen sound would upward break, 
With dashing hollow voice that spoke 
The incessant war of wave and rock. 
Suspended cliffs, with hideous sway, 



* * 'After landing on the skirts of Ben venue, we reach 
the cave (or more properly the cove) of the goblins, by 
a steep and narrow defile of a few hundred yards in 
length. It is a deep, circular amphitheatre of at least 
six hundred yards of extent in its upper diameter, grad- 
ually narrowing towards the base, hemmed in all round 
by steep and towering rocks, and rendered impenetrable 
to the rays of the sun by a close covert of luxuriant 
trees. On the south and west it is bounded by the pre- 
cipitous shoulder of Ben venue, to the height of at least 
five hundred feet ; towards the east, the rock appears at 
some former period to have tumbled down, strewing the 
whole course of its fall with immense fragments, which 
now serve only to give shelter to foxes, wild-cats, and 
badgers/ ' — Dr. Graham. ♦ 

9 



130 THE LADY OF THE LAKE 

Seem'd nodding o'er the cavern gray. 
From such a den the wolf had sprung, 
In such the wild-cat leaves her young; 
Yet Douglas and his daughter fair 
Sought for a space their safety there. 
Gray Superstition's whisper dread 
Debarr'd the spot to vulgar tread; 
For there, she said, did fays resort, 
And satyrs * hold their sylvan court, 
By moonlight tread their mystic maze, 
And blast the rash beholder's gaze. 

XXVII. 

Now eve, with western shadows long, 
Floated on Katrine bright and strong, 
When Roderick, with a chosen few, 
Repass'd the heights of Benvenue. 
Above the Goblin Cave they go, 
Through the wild pass of Beal-nam-bo ;f 
The prompt retainers speed before, 
To launch the shallop from the shore, 
For 'cross Loch Katrine lies his way 
To view the passes of Achray, 
And place his clansmen in array. 
Yet lags the chief in musing mind, 
Unwonted sight, his men behind, 
A single page, to bear his sword, 

* The Urisk or Highland satyr. See a previous Note, 

p. I2Q. 

f Bealach-nam-bo, or the pass of cattle, is a most mag- 
nificent glade, overhung with aged birch-trees, a little 
higher up the mountain than the Coir-nan-Uriskin, 
treated of in a former note. The whole composes the 
most sublime piece of scenery that imagination can con- 
ceive. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. s 131 

Alone attended on his lord ;* 

The rest their way through thickets break, 



* A Highland chief, being as absolute in his patriar- 
chal authority as any prince, had a corresponding num- 
ber of officers attached to his person. He had his body- 
guards, called Luichttach, picked from his clan for 
strength, activity, and entire devotion to his person. 
These, according to their deserts, were sure to share 
abundantly in the rude profusion of his hospitality. It 
is recorded, for example, by tradition, that Allan Mac- 
Lean, chief of that clan, happened upon a time to hear 
one of these favorite retainers observe to his comrade, 
that their chief grew old. "Whence do you infer that?" 
replied the other. "When was it," rejoined the first, 
"that a soldier of Allan's was obliged, as I am now, not 
only to eat the nesh from the bone, but even to tear off 
the inner skin, or filament?" The hint was quite suffi- 
cient, and MacLean next morning, to relieve his follow- 
ers from such dire necessity, undertook an inroad on the 
mainland, the ravages of which altogether effaced the 
memory of his former expeditions for the like purpose. 

Our officer of Engineers, so often quoted, has given us 
a distinct list of the domestic officers who, independent 
of Luichttach, or gardes de corps, belonged to the estab- 
lishment of a Highland Chief. These are: i. The 
Henchman. (See these notes, p. 93). 2. The Bard. 
(See p. 54). 3. Bladier, or spokesman. 4. Gillie-more, 
or sword-bearer, alluded to in the text. 5. Gillie- 
casflue, who carried the chief, if on foot, over the fords. 
6. Gillie-comstraine, who leads the chief's horse. 7. 
Gillie-Trushanarinsh, the baggage-man. 8. The piper. 
9. The piper's gillie or attendant, who carries the bag- 
pipe. Although this appeared, naturally enough, very 
ridiculous to an English officer, who considered the mas- 
ter of such a retinue as no more than an English gentle- 
man of ^"500 a year, yet in the circumstances of the chief, 
whose strength and importance consisted in the number 
and attachment of his followers, it was of the last con- 
sequence, in point of policy, to have in his gift subordi- 
nate offices, which called immediately round his person 
those who were most devoted to him, and, being of val- 



132 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And soon await him by the lake. 

It was a fair and gallant sight, 

To view them from the neighboring height 

By the low-level' d sunbeam's light! 

For strength and stature, from the clan 

Each warrior was a chosen man, 

As even afar might well be seen, 

By their proud step and martial mien. 

Their feathers dance, their tartans float, 

Their targets gleam, as by the boat 

A wild and warlike group they stand, 

That well became such mountain-strand. 

XXVIII. 

Their Chief with step reluctant still 
Was lingering on the craggy hill, 
Hard by where turn'd apart the road 
To Douglas' obscure abode. 
It was but with that dawning morn 
That Roderick Dhu had proudly sworn 
To drown his love in war's wild roar,* 
Nor think of Ellen Douglas more ; 
But he who stems a stream with sand, 
And fetters flame with flaxen band, 
Has yet a harder task to prove, — 
By firm resolve to conquer love ! 
Eve finds the Chief, like restless ghost. 
Still hovering near his treasure lost; 
For though his haughty heart deny 
A parting meeting to his eye, 

ue in their estimation were also the means of rewarding 
them. 
* MS. : "To drown his grief in war's wild roar, 
Nor think of love and Ellen more." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 133 

Still fondly strains his anxious ear 

The accents of her voice to hear, 

And inly did he curse the breeze 

That waked to sound the rustling trees. 

But hark! what mingles in the strain? 

It is the harp of Allan-Bane, 

That wakes its measures slow and high, 

Attuned to sacred minstrelsy. 

What melting voice attends the strings? 

'Tis Ellen, or an angel, sings. 

XXIX. 
HYMN TO THE VIRGIN. 

Ave Maria! maiden mild! 

Listen to a maiden's prayer! 

Thou canst hear though from the wild, 

Thou canst save amid despair. 
Safe may we sleep beneath thy care, 

Though banish 'd, outcast, and reviled — 
Maiden! hear a maiden's prayer; 

Mother, hear a suppliant child ! 

Ave Maria! 
Ave Maria! undefiled! 

The flinty couch we now must share * 
Shall seem with down of eider piled, 

If thy protection hover there. 
The murky cavern's heavy air f 

Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled ; 
Then, Maiden! hear a maiden's prayer, 

Mother, list a suppliant child! 

Ave Maria! 

* MS. : "The flinty couch my sire must share/' 
f MS. : "The murky grotto's noxious air." 



i:m in i i \i>\ < >k iiii i ak i . 

A \ e M. n i.i ' stainless : I \ led ! 

Koul demons of Hi'- cut h and air, 

Krom this their wonted haunt exiled, 

Sli. ill (lee before l hv pre: cin e [;ur, 
We how us t«> ottr lot ol eai e, 

i-;«-nc. it l) thy ••lihi.iih e recom [1( d ; 

I [car for .1 maid .1 maiden's p 
A ml for .1 I. it Iut lo .1 1 .1 child ! 

,\\ q Maria I 
1 >i< <i on the harp t he cl< h) mn, 

l nun >\ '-(1 in .-ill 1! udr ;i.nd limb 
A- List 'inn;.' still, ( 'Ian A lpine's lord 
1 1 leaning on his h( «i, 

Until the pajjc, with humble sign, 
T\\ k -c pointed to the sun *s drd: tie. 
Then w hile his plait I around h im east , 
" It [s the last tunc 'tis the last/ 1 
He muttered thrice, — "the lu: t tune <Yr 
Tli.it .iii-rl voice shall Uodei icl> hear!" 
It was a e.oadinj; thought his St ride 
I I ied hast ier dov\ n t he m< mntain side ; 
Sullen he Hun;- him in t he boat, 
And Instant 'cross t he lake it shot. 

They Landed Ln I hat Bih ei \ bay, 

And east ward held t heir hast y way. 
Till, with the latest beams oi lie lit, 
The b.md arri\ ed on I ..mi i< I height, 
W here m list er'd, in t he vale l >el< >w, 
Clan Alpine's men in martial show.* 

* MS.: "Wlinr ]>io. i<l rxtrnU*inir f.'ll' liclfu, 

MuKtcr'd CTall Alpine's 111.11 1 ..4] r.how." 



Till 1 APV OK Till 1 \K1 . l.v» 

xx 

A various scour the clansmen made, 

Some Sate, some stood, some slow! f\\ . 

But most wit ii in. mt lea folded round, 
Were coueh'd to rest upon the ground, 
• to he known by CUrloUS ej 
in the deep heather where thej 
So well was match'd the tartan set een 
With heat h bell ilat k and bracken 
1 ' nless where, here and there a blade, 
( >r lance's pomt , a glimmer made, 

•low worm twinkling through the 

when, advancing throimh the n, 

They saw t he ( miet'ta ) plume, 

Their Bhoul ol welcome, shrill and 

Shook the Bteep mountain's Bte le, 

Thrice it arose, and lake and fell 

>e t imes re1 urn'd I he mai I [al yell ; 
it died upon Bochast le's plain, 

Ami silence claimed her eveuin 



CANTO FOURTH. 

THE PROPHECY. 

\ l ' 

"The rose is fairest when 'tis budding new, 
And hope is brightest when it dawns from 
fears,* 
The rose is sweetest wash' d with morning dew, 
And love is loveliest when embalm'd in tears. 
O wilding rose, whom fancy thus endears, 
I bid your blossoms in my bonnet wave. 
Emblem of hope and love through future 

years !" 
Thus spoke young Norman, heir of Arman- 

dave, 
What time the sun rose on Vennachar's broad 
wave. 

n. 

Such fond conceit, half said, half sung, 

Love prompted to the bridegroom's tongue. 

All while he stripp'd the wild-rose spray, 

His axe and bow beside him lay, 

For on a pass 'twixt lake and wood 

A wakeful sentinel he stood. 

Hark ! — on the rock a footstep rung, 

* MS.: "And rapture dearest when obscured by 
fears." 

136 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 137 

And instant to his arms he sprung. 

4 'Stand, or thou diest! — What, Malise — soon 

Art thou return* d from Braes of Doune. 

By thy keen step and glance I know, 

Thou bring'st us tidings of the foe." 

(For while the Fiery Cross hied on, 

On distant scout had Malise gone.) 

4 'Where sleeps the Chief?" the henchman 

said. 
44 Apart in yonder misty glade; 
To his lone couch I'll be your guide. ' 
Then call'da slumberer by his side, 
And stirr'd him with his slacken'd bow — 
44 Up, up, Glentarkin! rouse thee, ho! 
We seek the Chieftain ; on the track 
Keep eagle watch till I come back." 

in. 

Together up the pass they sped : 

44 What of the foemen?" Norman said. — 

4 'Varying reports from near and far; 

This certain, — that a band of war 

Has for two days been ready boune, 

At prompt command, to march from Doune; 

King James, the while, with princely powers. 

Holds revelry in Stirling towers. 

Soon will this dark and gathering cloud 

Speak on our glens in thunder loud. 

Inured to bide such bitter bout, 

The warrior's plaid may bear it out; 

But Norman, how wilt thou provide 

A shelter for thy bonny bride?" — 

44 What! know ye not that Roderick's care 



138 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

To the lone isle hath caused repair 
Each maid and matron of the clan, 
And every child and aged man, 
Unfit for arms; and given his charge, 
Nor skiff nor shallop, boat nor barge, 
Upon these lakes shall float at large, 
But all beside the islet moor, 
That such dear pledge may rest secure?' ' — 

IV. 

" 'Tis well advised — the Chieftain's plan * 
Bespeaks the father of his clan. 
But wherefore sleeps Sir Roderick Dhu 
Apart from all his followers true?" — 
44 It is, because last evening-tide 
Brian an augury hath tried, 
Of that dread kind which must not be 
Unless in dread extremity, 
The Taghairm call'd; by which afar, 
Our sires foresaw the events of war.f 
Duncraggan's milk-white bull they slew." — 

MALISE. 

"Ah! well the gallant brute I knew! 
The choicest of the prey we had 
When swept our merry -men Gallangad. J 

* MS. : " 'Tis well advised — a prudent plan, 
Worthy the father of his clan. ' ' 

f See Appendix, Note I. 

X I know not if it be worth observing, that this pas- 
sage is taken almost literally from the mouth of an old 
Highland Kern, or Ketteran, as they were called. He 
used to narrate the merry doings of the good old time 
when he was a follower of Rob Roy MacGregor. This 
leader, on one occasion, thought proper to make a 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 139 

His hide was snow, his horns were dark. 

His red eye glow'd like fiery spark; 

So fierce, so tameless, and so fleet, 

Sore did he cumber our retreat, 

And kept our stoutest kerns in awe, 

Even at the pass of Beal 'maha. 

But steep and flinty was the road, 

And sharp the hurrying pikemen's goad, 

And when we came to Dennan's Row, 

A child might scathless stroke his brow. ' ' 

v. 

NORMAN. 

1 1 That bull was slain: his reeking hide 
They stretch'd the cataract beside, 
Whose waters their wild tumult toss 
A down the black and craggy boss 
Of that huge cliff, whose ample verge 

descent upon the lower part of the Loch Lomond dis- 
trict, and summoned all the heritors and farmers to 
meet at the Kirk of Drymen, to pay him black mail, 
i. e., tribute for forbearance and protection. As this 
invitation was supported by a band of thirty or forty 
stout fellows, only one gentleman, an ancestor, if I mis- 
take not, of the present Mr. Grahame of Gartmore, ven- 
tured to decline compliance. Rob Rob instantly swept 
his land of all he could drive away, and among the 
spoil was a bull of the old Scottish wild breed, whose 
ferocity occasioned great plague to the Ketterans. "But 
ere we had reached the Row of Dennan," said the old 
man, "a child might have scratched his ears." The 
circumstance is a minute one, but it paints the times 
when the poor beeve was compelled — 

"To hoof it o'er as many weary miles, 

With goading pikemen hollowing at his heels, 

As e'er the bravest antler of the woods." — Ethwald. 



140 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Tradition calls the Hero's Targe.* 
Couch' d on a shelf beneath its brink, 
Close where the thundering torrents sink, 
Rocking beneath their headlong sway, 
And drizzled by the ceaseless spray, 
'Midst groan of rock and roar of stream, 
The wizard waits prophetic dream. 
Nor distant rests the Chief; — but hush! 
See gliding slow through mist and bush, 
The hermit gains yon rock, and stands 
To gaze upon our slumbering bands. 
Seems he not, Malise, like a ghost, 
That hovers o'er a slaughter'd host? 
Or raven on the blasted oak, 
That watching while the deer is broke, f 
His morsel claims with sullen croak?" 



* There is a rock so named in the Forest of Glenfin- 
las, by which a tumultuary cataract takes its course. 
This wild place is said in former times to have afforded 
refuge to an outlaw, who was supplied with provisions 
by a woman, who lowered him down from the brink of 
the precipice above. His water he procured for him- 
self, by letting down a flagon tied to a string, into the 
black pool beneath the fall. 

t Quartered. — Everything belonging to the chase was 
matter of solemnity among our ancestors ; but nothing 
was more so than the mode of cutting up, or, as it was 
technically called, breaking, the slaughtered stag. The 
forester had his alloted portion ; the hounds had a cer- 
tain allowance ; and, to make the division as general as 
possible, the very birds had their share also. "There 
is a little gristle, " says Tuberville, "which is upon the 
spoone of the brisket, which we call the raven's bone; 
and I have seen in some places a raven so wont and 
accustomed to it, that she would never fail to croak and 
cry for it all the time you were in breaking up of the 
deer, and would not depart till she had it." In the 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 141 

MALISE. 

' ' Peace! peace! to other than to me, 
Thy words were evil augury ; 
But still I hold Sir Roderick's blade 
Clan-Alpine's omen and her aid, 
Not aught that, glean'd from heaven or hell, 
Yon fiend-begotten monk can tell. 
The chieftain joins him, see — and now, 
Together they descend the brow." 

VI. 

And, as they came, with Alpine's Lord 
The Hermit Monk held solemn word: 

very ancient metrical romance of Sir Tristrem, that 
peerless knight, who is said to have been the very de- 
viser of all rules of chase, did not omit the ceremony. 

"The rauen he yaue his yiftes 
Sat on the f ourched tre. ' ' 

The raven might also challenge his rights by the 
book of St. Albans ; for thus says Dame Juliana Ber- 
ners: 

"Sitteth anon 

The bely to the side, from the corbyn bone ; 
That is corbyne's fee, at the death he will be." 

Jonson in "The Sad Shepherd," gives a more poeti- 
cal account of the same ceremony: — 

"Marian. He that undoes him 

Doth cleave the brisket bone, upon the spoon 

Of which a little gristle grows — you call it — 

Robin Hood. The raven's bone. 

Marian. Now o'er head sat a raven 

On a sere bough, a grown, great bird, and hoarse, 

Who, all the while the deer was breaking up, 

So croak' d and cried for't, as all the huntsmen, 

Especially old Scathlock, thought it ominous." 



142 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

' ' Roderick ! it is a fearful strife, 
For man endow'd with mortal life, 
Whose shroud of sentient clay can still 
Feel feverish pang and fainting chill, 
Whose eye can stare in ston) 7 trance, 
Whose hair can rouse like warrior's lance, — 
'Tis hard for such to view, unfurl'd, 
The curtain of the future world. 
Yet witness every quaking limb, 
My sunken pulse, mine eyeballs dim, 
My soul with harrowing anguish torn, 
This for my Chieftain have I borne ! — 
The shapes that sought my fearful couch, 
A human tongue may ne'er avouch; 
No mortal man, — save he, who, bred 
Between the living and the dead, 
Is gifted beyond nature's law, — 
Had e'er surviv'd to say he saw. 
At length the fateful answer came, 
In characters of living flame! 
Not spoke in word, nor blazed in scroll, 
But borne and branded on my soul. 
Which spills the foremost foeman's life,* 
That party conquers in the strife." — f 

* MS. : "Which foremost spills a foeman's life." 
| Though this be in the text described as a reponse of 
the Taghairm, or Oracle of the Hide, it was of itself an 
augury frequently attended to. The fate of the battle 
was often anticipated in the imagination of the comba- 
tants, by observing which party first shed blood. It is 
said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply 
imbued with this notion, that on the morning of the 
battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless 
herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to 
secure an advantage of so much consequence to their 
party. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 143 

VII. 

"Thanks, Brian, for thy zeal and care! 

Good is thine augury, and fair. 

Clan-Alpine ne'er in battle stood, 

But first, our broadswords tasted blood. 

A surer victim still I know, 

Self-offer'd to the auspicious blow: 

A spy has sought my land this morn, 

No eve shall witness his return! 

My followers guard each pass's mouth, 

To east, to westward, and to south ; 

Red Murdoch, bribed to be his guide,* 

Has charge to lead his steps aside, 

Till, in deep path or dingle brown. 

He light on those shall bring him down, f 

— But see, who comes his news to show! 

Malise! what tidings of the foe?" — 

VIII. 

"At Doune, o'er many a spear and glaive 

Two Barons proud their banners wave. 

I saw the Moray's silver star, 

And marked the sable pale of Mar." — 

"By Alpine's soul, high tidings those! 

I love to hear of worthy foes. 

Whenmove they on?" — "To-morrow's noonj 

* MS. : "The clansman vainly deem'd his guide." 
f MS. : "He light on those shall stab him down." 

J MS. : " 'When move they on?' j !™^ Un I at noon 
1 'Tis said will see them march from Doune.* 
1 To-morrow then i™2S" I meeting stern. " ' 



144 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Will see them here for battle bonne. " — * 

4 'Then shall it see a meeting stern! — 

But, for the place, — say, couldst thou learn 

Nought of the friendly clans of Earn? 

Strengthen'd by them, we well might bide 

The battle on Benledi's side. 

Thou couldst not ? — Well ! Clan- Alpine ' s men 

Shall man the Trosach's shaggy glen; 

Within Loch Katrine's gorge we'll fight, 

All in our maid's and matrons' sight, 

Each for his hearth and household fire, 

Father for child, and son for sire, 

Lover for maid beloved ! — But why — 

Is it the breeze affects mine eye? 

Or dost thou come, ill-omen'd tear! 

A messenger of doubt or fear? 

No ! sooner may the Saxon lance 

Unfix Benledi from his stance, 

Than doubt or terror can pierce through 

The unyielding heart of Roderick Dhu! 

'Tis stubborn as his trusty targe. — \ 

Eah to his post! — all know their charge." 

The pibroch sounds, the bands advance, 

The broadswords gleam, the banners dance,. 

Obedient to the Chieftain's glance. 

— I turn me from the martial roar, 

And see Coir-Uriskin once more. 

IX. 

Where is the Douglas? — he is gone; 
And Ellen sits on the gray stone 



*For battle boune — ready for battle. 

t MS. : ' ' 'Tis stubborn as his Highland targe. ' ' 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 145 

Fast by the cave, and makes her moan ; 
While vainly Allan's words of cheer 
Are pour'd on her unheeding ear. 
44 He will return — dear lady, trust! — 
With joy return ; — he will — he must. 
Well was it time to seek, afar, 
Some refuge from impending war, 
When e'en Clan-Alpine's rugged swarm 
Are cow'd by the approaching storm. 
I saw their boats with many a light, 
Floating the live-long yesternight, 
Shifting like flashes darted forth * 
By the red streamers of the north! 
I mark'd at morn how close they ride, 
Thick moor'd by the lone islet's side, 
Like wild-ducks couching in the fen, 
When stoops the hawk upon the glen. 
Since this rude race dare not abide 
The peril on the mainland side, 
Shall not thy noble father's care 
Some safe retreat for thee prepare?' * 



MS. : ' 'Thick as the flashes darted forth 
By morrice-dancers of the north ; 

And saw at morn their ]%$££**• 

Close moor'd by the lone islet's side. 
Since this rude race dare not abide 
Upon their native mountain side, 
'Tis fit that Douglas should provide 
For his dear child some safe abode, 
And soon he comes to point the road." 



10 



146 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



ELLEN. 

"No, Allan, no! Pretext so kind* 
My wakeful terrors could not blind. 
When in such tender tone, yet grave, 
Douglas a parting blessing gave, 
The tear that glisten'd in his eye 
Drown'd not his purpose fix'd and high. 
My soul, though feminine and weak, 
Can image his; e'en as the lake, 
Itself disturb' d by slightest stroke, f 
Reflects the invulnerable rock. 
He hears report of battle rife, 
He deems himself the cause of strife. 
I saw him redden, when the theme 
Turn'd, Allan, on thine idle dream, 
Of Malcolm Graeme, in fetters bound, 
Which I, thou saidst, about him wound. 
Think'st thou he trow'd thine omen aught? 
Oh no! 'twas apprehensive thought 
For the kind youth, — for Roderick too — 
(Let me be just) that friend so true; 
In danger both, and in our cause ! 
Minstrel, the Douglas dare not pause. 
Why else that solemn warning given, 
4 If not on earth, we meet in Heaven!' 
Why else, to Cambus-kenneth's fane, 



* MS. : "No, Allan, no ! His words so kind 
Were but pretexts my fears to blind, 
When in such solemn tone and grave 
Douglas a parting blessing gave." 

t MS. : "Itself disturb'd by slightest shock, 
Reflects the adamantine rock. ' ' 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 147 

If eve return him not again, 

Am I to hie, and make me known"* 

Alas! he goes to Scotland's throne, 

Buys his friend's safety with his own; — 

He goes to do what I had done, — 

Had Douglas' daughter been his son!" — 

XI. 
ALLAN. 

"Nay, lovely Ellen! — dearest, nay! 

If aught should his return delay, 

He only named yon holy fane 

As fitting place to meet again. 

Be sure he's safe; and for the Graeme, — 

Heaven's blessing on his gallant name ! 

My vision 'd sight may yet prove true, 

Nor bode of ill to him or you. 

When did my gifted dream beguile? 

Think of the stranger at the isle, 

And think upon the harpings slow, 

That presaged this approaching woe! 

Sooth was my prophecy of fear; 

Believe it when it augurs cheer. 

Would we had left this dismal spot f . 

Ill luck still haunts a fairy grot. 

Of such a wonderous tale I know — 

Dear lady, change that look of woe, 

My harp was wont thy grief to cheer. " — 

ELLEN. 

"Well, be it as thou wilt; I hear, 
But cannot stop the bursting tear." 
The minstrel tried his simple art, 
But distant far was Ellen's heart. 



148 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XII. 

BALLAD:* ALICE BRAND. 

Merry it is in the good greenwood, 

When the mavis f and merle J are singing, 

When the deer sweeps by, and the hounds are 
in cry, 
And the hunter's horn is ringing. 

44 O Alice Brand, my native land 

Is lost for love of you; 
And we must hold by wood and wold, 

As outlaws wont to do. 

O Alice, 'twas all for thy locks so bright, 
And 'twas all for thine eyes so blue, 

That on the night of our luckless flight, 
Thy brother bold I slew. 

"Now must I teach to hew the beech 

The hand that held the glaive, 
For leaves to spread our lowly bed, 

And stakes to fence our cave. 

44 And for vest of pall, thy fingers small, 

That wont on harp to stray, 
A cloak must shear from the slaughter 'd dee? 

To keep the cold away. " — 

<4 O Richard ! if my brother died, 

'Twas but a fatal chance ; 
For darkling was the battle tried, 

And fortune sped the lance. § 

* See Appendix, Note K. f Thrush. J Blackburn. 
§ MS. : "Twas but a midnight chance; 

For blindfold was the battle plied, 

And fortune held the lance. " 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 149 

"If pall and vair no more I wear, 

Nor thou the crimson sheen, 
As warm, we'll say, is the russet gray 

As gay the forest-green. 

"And Richard, if our lot be hard, 

And lost thy native land, 
Still Alice has her own Richard 

And he his Alice Brand." 

XIII. 

BALLAD CONTINUED. 

'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood. 

So blithe Lady Alice is singing; 
On the beech's pride, and oak's brown side, 

Lord Richard's axe is ringing. 

Up spoke the moody Elfin King, 
Who won'd within the hill, — * 

*In a long dissertation upon the Fairy Superstitions, 
published in the "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," 
the most valuable part of which was supplied by my 
learned and indefatigable friend, Dr. John Leyden, 
most of the circumstances are collected which can throw 
light upon the popular belief which even yet prevails 
respecting them in Scotland. Dr. Grahame, author of 
an entertaining work upon the Scenery of the Perthshire 
Highlands, already frequently quoted, has recorded, 
with great accuracy, the peculiar tenets held by the 
Highlanders on this topic, in the vicinity of Loch 
Katrine. The learned author is inclined to deduce the 
whole mythology from the Druidical system, — an opinion 
to which there are many objections. 

"The Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, of the Highland- 
ers, though not absolutely malevolent, are believed to be 
a peevish, repining race of beings, who possessing them- 
selves but a scanty portion of happiness, are supposed 



150 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Like wind in the porch of a ruin'd church, 
His voice was ghostly shrill. 

to envy mankind their more complete and substantial 
enjoyments. They are supposed to enjoy in their sub- 
terraneous recesses, a sort of shadowy happiness — a 
tinsel grandeur ; which, however, they would willingly 
exchange for the more solid joys of mortality. 

"They are believed to inhabit certain round grassy 
eminences, where they celebrate their nocturnal festiv- 
ities by the light of the moon. About a mile beyond 
the source of the Forth above Loch Con, there is a place 
called Coirshi'an, or the Cove of the Men of Peace, 
which is still supposed to be a favorite place of their res- 
idence. In the neighborhood are to be seen many 
round conical eminences; particularly one, near the 
head of the lake, by the skirts of which many are still 
afraid to pass after sunset It is believed, that if, on 
Hallow-eve, any person, alone, goes round one of these 
hills nine times, towards the left hand (sinistrorsum) a 
door shall open, by which he will be admitted into their 
subterraneous abodes. Many, it is said, of mortal race 
have been entertained in their secret recesses. There 
they have been received into the most splendid apart- 
ments, and regaled with the most sumptuous banquets, 
and delicious wines. Their females surpass the daugh- 
ters of men in beauty. The seemingly happy inhabitants 
pass their time in festivity, and in dancing to notes of 
the softest music. But unhappy is the mortal who 
joins in their joys, or ventures to partake of their 
dainties. By this indulgence, he forfeits forever the 
society of men, and is bound down irrevocably to the 
condition of Shi'ich, or Man of Peace. 

"A woman, as is reported in the Highland tradition, 
was conveyed in days of yore into the secret recesses of 
the Men of Peace. There she was recognized by one 
who had formerly been an ordinary mortal, but who 
had, by some fatality, become associated with the 
Shi'ichs. This acquaintance, still retaining some por- 
tion of human benevolence, warned her of her danger, 
and counselled her, as she valued her liberty, to abstain 
from eating and drinking with them for a certain space 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 151 

''Why sounds yon stroke on beech and oak, 

Our moonlight circle's screen?* 
Or who comes here to chase the deer, 

Beloved of our Elfin QueenPf 
Or who may dare on wold to wear 

The fairies' fatal green?J 
" Up, Urgan, up! to yon mortal hie, 

For thou wert christen'd man ; § 

of time. She complied with the counsel of her friend; 
and when the period assigned was elapsed, she found 
herself again upon earth, restored to the society of mor- 
tals. It is added, that when she examined the viands 
which had been presented to her, and which had 
appeared so tempting to the eye, they were found now 
that the enchantment was removed, to consist only of 
the refuse of the earth. — P. 107-111. 

* MS. : "Our fairy ringlets screer." 

f See Appendix, Note L. 

X As the Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, wore green 
habits, they were supposed to take offence when any 
mortals ventured to assume their favorite color. 
Indeed, from some reason, which has been, perhaps, 
originally a general superstition, green is held in Scot- 
land to be unlucky to particular tribes and counties. 
The Caithness men, who hold this belief, allege, as a 
reason, that their bands wore that color when they were 
cut off at the battle of Flodden ; and for the same rea- 
son they avoid crossing the Ord on a Monday, being 
the day of the week on which their ill-omened array set 
forth. Green is also disliked by those of the name of 
Ogilvy; but more especially is it held fatal to the whole 
clan of Grahame. It is remembered of an aged gentle- 
man of that name, that when his horse fell in a fox- 
chase, he accounted for it at once, by observing, that 
the whip-cord attached to his lash was of this unlucky 
color. 

§ The Elves were supposed greatly to envy the priv- 
ileges acquired by Christian initiation, and they gave to 
those mortals who had fallen into their power, a certain 



152 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

For cross or sign thou wilt not fly, 
For mutter 'd word or ban. 



precedence, founded upon this advantageous distinction. 
Tamlane, in the old ballad, describes his own rank in 
the fairy procession: — 

"For I ride on a milk-white steed. 
And aye nearest the town ; 
Because I was a christen 'd knight, 
They gave me that renown. ' ' 

I presume, that in the Danish ballad of the Elfin Grey 
(see Appendix, Note K.) the obtinacy of the "Weist 
Elf," who would not flee for cross or sign, is to be 
derived from the circumstance of his having been 
"christen'd man." 

How eager the Elves were to obtain for their offspring 
the prerogatives of Christianity, will be proved by the 
following story: — "In the district called Haga, in Ice- 
land, dwelt a nobleman called Sigward Forster, who had 
an intrigue with one of the subterranean females. The 
elf became pregnant and exacted from her lover a firm 
promise that he would procure the baptism of the infant. 
At the appointed time, the mother came to the church- 
yard, on the wall of which she placed a golden cup, and 
a stole for the priest, agreeable to the custom of making 
an offering at baptism. She then stood a little apart 
When the priest left the church, he inquired the mean- 
ing of what he saw, and demanded of Sigward if he 
avowed himself the father of the child. But Sigward, 
ashamed of the connexion, denied the paternity. He 
was then interrogated if he desired that the child should 
be baptized ; but this also he answered in the negative, 
lest, by such request, he should admit himself to be the 
father. On which the child was left untouched and 
unbaptized. Whereupon the mother, in extreme wrath, 
snatched up the infant and the cup, and retired, leaving 
the priestly cope, of which fragments are still in pre- 
servation. But this female denounced and imposed 
upon Sigward, and his posterity, to the ninth genera- 
tion, a singular disease, with which many of his descend- 
ants are afflicted at this day." Thus wrote Einar Dud- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 153 

44 Lay on him the curse of the withered heart, 

The curse of the sleepless eye ; 
Till he wish and pray that his life would part, 

Nor yet find leave to die. " 

XIV. 
BALLAD CONTINUED. 

'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood, 
Though the birds have still'd their singing; 

The evening blaze doth Alice raise, 
And Richard is fagots bringing. 

Up Urgan starts, that hideous dwarf, 

Before Lord Richard stands, 
And as he cross'd and bless'd himself, 
" I fear not sign, " quoth the grisly elf, 

"That is made with bloody hands. " 

But out then spoke she, Alice Brand, 

That woman void of fear, — 
"And if there's blood upon his hand, 

'Tis but the blood of deer."— 

"Now loud thou liest, thou bold of mood 

It cleaves unto his hand, 
The stain of thin own kindly blood, 

The blood of Ethert Brand." 

Then forward stepp'd she, Alice Brand, 
And made the holy sign, — 

mond, pastor of the parish of Garpsdale, in Iceland, a 
man profoundly versed in learning, from whose manu- 
script it was extracted by the learned Torfseus. — His- 
toria Hrolfi Krakii, Hafnise, 171 5, prefatio. 



154 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

"And if there's blood on Richard's hand, 
A spotless hand is mine. 

4 'And I conjure thee, Demon elf, 
By Him whom Demons fear, 

To show us whence thou art thyself, 
And what thine errand here?" 



xv. 

BALLAD CONTINUED. 

*' 'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in Fairy-land, 

When fairy birds are singing, 
When the court doth ride by their monarch's 
side, 

With bit and bridle ringing: 

"And gaily shines the Fairy-land, 

But all is glistening show,* 
Like the idle gleam that December's beam 

Can dart on ice and snow. 

"And fading, like that varied gleam, 

Is our inconstant shape, 
Who now like knight and lady seem, 

And now like dwarf and ape. 

"It was between the night and day, 
When the Fairy King has power, 
That I sunk down in a sinful fray, 



* See Appendix, Note M. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 155 

And 'twixt life and death was snatch 'd away 
To the joyless Elfin bower.* 

M But wist I of a woman bold, 

Who thrice my brow durst sign, 
I might regain my mortal mold, 

As fair a form as thine. ' ' 

She cross' d him once — she cross' d him twice — 

That lady was so brave; 
The fouler grew his goblin hue, 

The darker grew the cave. 

- * The subjects of Fairy-land were recruited from the 
regions of humanity by a sort of crimping system, which 
extended to adults as well as to infants. Many of those 
who were in this world supposed to have discharged the 
debt of nature, had only become denizens of the "Londe 
of Faery." In the beautiful Fairy Romance of Orfee 
and Heurodiis (Orpheus and Eurydice) in the Auchinleck 
MS., is the following striking enumeration of persons 
thus abstracted from middle earth. Mr. Ritson unfortu- 
nately published this romance from a copy in which the 
following, and many other highly poetical passages do 
not occur: — 

"Then he gan biholde about al, 
And seighe ful liggeand -with in the wal, 
Of folk that were thidder y-brought, 
And thought dede and nere nought; 
Some stode with outen hadde; 
And sum none amies nade; 
And sum thurch the bodi hadde wounde; 
And sum lay wode y-bounde; 
And sum armed on hors sete; 
And sum estrangled as thai ete; 
And sum war in water adreynt; 
And sum with fire al forschreynt; 
Wives ther lay on childe bedde; 
Some dede. and sum aweddc; 
And wonder fele ther lay besides, 
Right as thai slepe her undertides; 
Eche was thus in the warld y-nome, 
With fairi thider y-come." 



156 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

She cross'd him thrice, that lady bold; 

He rose beneath her hand 
The fairest knight on Scottish mold, 

Her brother, Ethert Brand! 

Merry it is in good greenwood, 

When the mavis and merle are singing, 

But the merrier were they in Dunfermline gray, 
When all the bells were ringing. 

XVI. 

Just as the minstrel's sounds were stay'd, 

A stranger climb'd the steepy glade: 

His martial step, his stately mien, 

His hunting suit of Lincoln green, 

His eagle glance, remembrance claims — 

'Tis Snowdoun's Knight,' tis James Fitz-James. 

Ellen beheld as in a dream, 

Then, starting, scarce suppress'd a scream: 

"O stranger! in such hour of fear, 

What evil hap has brought thee here? ,, — 

"An evil hap how can it be, 

That bids me look again on thee? 

By promise bound, my former guide 

Met me betimes this morning tide, 

And marsh all 'd, over bank and bourne, 

The happy path of my return." — 

"The happy path! — what! said he nought 

Of war, of battle to be fought, 

Of guarded pass?" — tk No, by my faith! 

Now saw I aught could augur scathe. ' ' — 

4t O haste thee, Allan, to the kern: 

Yonder his tartans I discern ; 

Learn thou his purpose, and conjure 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 157 

That he will guide the stranger sure ! — 
What prompted thee, unhappy man? 
The meanest serf in Roderick's clan 
Had not been bribed by love or fear, 
Unknown to him to guide thee here." 



XVII. 



a 



Sweet Ellen, dear my life must be, 
Since it is worthy care from thee; 
Yet life I hold but idle breath, 
When love or honor's weigh'd with death. 
Then let me profit by my chance, 
And speak my purpose bold at once. 
I come to bear thee from a wild, 
Where ne'er before such blossom smiled, 
By this soft hand to lead thee far 
From frantic scenes of feud and war. 
Near Bochastle my horses wait ;* 
They bear us soon to Stirling gate. 
I'll place thee in a lovely bower, 
I'll guard thee like a tender flower" — 
"O! hush, Sir Knight! 'twere female art, 
To say I do not read thy heart ; 
Too much, before, my selfish ear 
Was idly soothed my praise to hear.f 
That fatal bait hath lured thee back, 
In deathful hour, o'er dangerous track 
And how, O how, can I atone 
The wreck my vanity brought on ! — 
One way remains — I'll tell him all — 
Yes ! struggling bosom, forth it shall ! 

* MS. : "By Cambusmore my horses wait." 
| MS. : "Was idly fond thy praise to hear." 



158 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Thou, whose light folly bears the blame, 

Buy thine own pardon with thy shame! 

But first — my father is a man 

Outlaw'd and exiled, under ban; 

The price of blood is on his head, 

With me 'twere infamy to wed. — 

Still wouldst thou speak? — then hear the truth ! 

Fitz-James, there is a noble youth, — 

If yet he is ! — exposed for me 

And mine to dread extremity — 

Thou hast the secret of my heart; 

Forgive, be generous, and depart!" 

XVIII. 

Fitz-James knew every wily train 

A lady's fickle heart to gain, 

But here he knew and felt them vain. 

There shot no glance from Ellen's eye, 

To give her steadfast speech the lie ; 

In maiden confidence she stood, 

Though mantled in her cheek the blood, 

And told her love with such a sigh 

Of deep and hopeless agony, 

As death had seal'd her Malcolm's doom, 

And she sat sorrowing on his tomb. 

Hope vanished from Fitz-James's eye, 

But not with hope fled sympathy. 

He proffer'd to attend her side, 

As brother would a sister guide. — 

"O! little know'st thou Roderick's heart 

Safer for both we go apart. 

O haste thee, and from Allan learn, 

If thou may'st trust yon wily kern." 

With hand upon his forehead laid, 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 159 

The conflict of his mind to shade 

A parting step or two he made ; 

Then, as some thought had cross'd his brain, 

He paused, and turn'd, and came again. 

XIX. 

4 'Hear, lady, yet a parting word! — 

It chanced in fight that my poor sword 

Preserved the life of Scotland's lord. 

This ring the grateful Monarch gave,* 

And bade, when I had boon to crave, 

To bring it back and boldly claim 

The recompense that I would name. 

Ellen, I am no courtly lord, 

But one who lives by lance and sword, 

Whose castle is his helm and shield, 

His lordship the embattled field. 

What from a prince can I demand, 

Who neither reck of state nor land? 

Ellen, thy hand — the ring is thine ;f 

Each guard and usher knows the sign. 

Seek thou the king without delay; J 

This signet shall secure thy way: 

And claim thy suit, whate'er it be, 

As ransom of his pledge to me." 

He placed the golden circlet on, 

Paused — kissed her hand — and then was gone. 



*MS. 
fMS. 
J MS. 



"This ring of gold the monarch gave." 
"Permit this hand — the ring is thine." 
" 'Seek thou the King, and on thy knee 

Put forth thy suit, what e'er it be, 

As ransom of his pledge to me ; 

My name and this shall make thy way.' 

He put the little signet on." 



160 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

The aged Minstrel stood aghast, 

So hastily Fitz-James shot past. 

He join'd his guide, and wending down 

The ridges of the mountain brown, 

Across the stream they took their way, 

That joins Loch Katrine to Achray. 

xx. 

All in the TrosachV glen was still, 
Noontide was sleeping on the hill : 
Sudden his guide whoop'd loud and high — 
"Murdoch! was that a signal cry?" — 
He stammered forth, "I shout to scare* 
Yon raven from his dainty fare. ' ' 
He look'd — he knew the raven's prey, 
His own brave steed: "Ah! gallant gray! 
For thee — for me, perchance — 'twere well 
We ne'er had seen the Trosachs' dell. — 
Murdoch, move first — but silently; 
Whistle or whoop, and thou shalt die!" 
Jealous and sullen on they fared, 
Each silent, each upon his guard. 

XXI. 

Now wound the path its dizzy ledge 
Around the precipice's edge, 
When lo ! a wasted female form, 
Blighted by wrath of sun and storm, 
In tatter'd weeds and wild array,f 

* MS. : "He stammer'd forth confused reply: 

IfrTnight, i X shouted but to scare 
Yon raven from his dainty fare.' " 

f MS. : "Wrapp'd in a tatter'd mantle gray." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 161 

Stood on a cliff beside the way, 
And glancing round her restless eye, 
Upon the wood, the rock, the sky, 
Seem'd nought to mark, yet all to spy. 
Her brow was wreath'd with gaudy broom; 
With gesture wild she waved a plume 
Of feathers which the eagles fling 
To crag and cliff from dusky wing ; 
Such spoils her desperate step had sought. 
Where scarce was footing for the goat. 
The tartan plaid she first descried, 
And shriek'd till all the rocks replied; 
As loud she laugh'd when near they drew, 
For then the Lowland garb she knew; 
And then her hands she wildly wrung, 
And then she wept, and then she sung — 
She sung! — the voice in better time, 
Perchance to harp or lute might chime; 
And now though strain'd and roughen'd, still 
Rung wildly sweet to dale and hill. 

XXII. 
SONG. 

They bid me sleep, they bid me pray, 

They say my brain is warp'd and wrung — 

I cannot sleep on Highland brae, 
I cannot pray in Highland tongue. 

But were I now where Allan * glides, 

Or heard my native Devan's tides, 

* The Allan and Devan are two beautiful streams, the 
latter celebrated in the poetry of Burns, which descend 
from the hills of Perthshire into the great carse or plain, 
of Stirling. 

11 



162 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

So sweetly would I rest, and pray 

That heaven would close my wintry day! 

'Twas thus my hair they bade me braid, 
They bade me to the church repair; 

It was my bridal morn they said, 

And my true love would meet me there. 

But woe betide the cruel guile, 

That drown'd in blood the morning smile! 

And woe betide the fairy dream! 

I only waked to sob and scream. 

XXIII. 

"Who is this maid? what means her lay? 

She hovers o'er the hollow way, 

And flutters wide her mantle gray, 

As the lone heron spreads his wing, 

By twilight, o'er a haunted spring. "— 

44 'Tis Blanche of Devan," Murdoch said,* 

44 A crazed and captive Lowland maid, 

Ta'en on the morn she was a bride, 

When Roderick foray'd Devan-side. 

The gay bridegroom resistance made, 

And felt our Chief's unconquer'd blade. 

I marvel she is now at large, 

But oft she 'scapes from Maudlin's charge. — 

Hence, brain -sick fool I" — He raised his bow : — 

44 Now, if thou strik'st her but one blow, 

I'll pitch thee from the cliff as far 

As ever peasant pitch'd a bar!" — 

4 'Thanks, champion, thanks!" the Maniac cried, 

* MS. : M *A Saxon born, a crazy maid — 

'Tis Blanche of Devon,' Murdoch said." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 163 

And press'd her to Fitz-James's side. 
"See the gray pennons I prepare,* 
To seek my true love through the air! 
I will not lend that savage groom, f 
To break his fall, one downy plume ! 
No! — deep amid disjointed stones, 
The wolves shall batten on his bones, 
And then shall his detested plaid, 
By brush and brier in mid air stay'd, 
Wave forth a banner fair and free, 
Meet signal for their revelry. " — 

XXIV. 

"Hush thee, poor maiden, and be still ! * * 
"O! thou look'st kindly, and I will. 
Mine eye has dried and wasted been, 
But still it loves the Lincoln green ; 
And, though mine ear is all unstrung. 
Still, still it loves the Lowland tongue. 

"For O my sweet William was forester true, J 
He stole poor Blanched heart away! 

His coat it was all of the greenwood hue,§ 
And so blithely he trill' d the Lowland lay! 

* MS. : "With thee these pennons will I share. 

Then seek my true love through the air." 

fMS. : "But I'll not lend that savage groom, 
To break his fall one downy plume ! 
Deep, deep 'mid yon disjointed stones, 
The wolf shall batten on his bones." 

X MS. : "Sweet William was a woodsman true, 
He stole poor Blanche's heart way." 

§ MS. : "His coat was of the forest hue, 

And sweet he sung the Lowland lay." 



164 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

"It was not that I meant to tell . . . 
But thou art wise and guessest well." 
Then, in a low and broken tone, 
And hurried note, the song went on. 
Still on the Clansman, fearfully, 
She fixed her apprehensive eye ; 
Then turn'd it on the Knight, and then 
Her look glanced wildly o'er the glen. 

xxv. 

"The toils are pitch 'd, and the stakes are set, 
Ever singing merrily, merrily; 
The bows they bend, and the knives they 
whet, 
Hunters live so cheerily. 

"It was a stag, a stag of ten,* 
Bearing its branches sturdily ; 
He came stately down the glen, 
Ever sing hardily, hardily. 

"It was there he met with a wounded doe, 
She was bleeding deathfully; 
She warn'd him of the toils below, 
O, so faithfully, faithfully! 



a 



He had an eye, and he could heed, 

Ever sing warily, warily ; 
He had a foot and he could speed — 

Hunters watch so narrowly, "f 

* Having ten branches on his antlers. 

f "No machinery can be conceived more clumsy for 
effecting the deliverance of a distressed hero, than the 
introduction of a mad woman, who, without knowing or 
caring about the wanderer, warns him, by a song, to 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 165 

XXVI. 

Fitz-James's mind was passion-toss'd, 

When Ellen's hints and fears were lost; 

But Murdoch's shout suspicion wrought, 

And Blanche's song conviction brought. 

Not like a stag that spies the snare, 

But lion of the hunt aware. 

He waved at once his blade on high. 

<% Disclose thy treachery, or die!" 

Forth at full speed the Clansman flew,* 

But in his race his bow he drew. 

The shaft just grazed Fitz-James's crest, 

And thrill' d in Blanche's faded breast. — 

Murdoch of Alpine! prove thy speed, 

For ne'er had Alpine's son such need! 

With heart of fire and foot of wind, 

The fierce avenger is behind ! 

Fate judges of the rapid strife — 

The forfeit death — the prize is life ! 

Thy kindred ambush lies before, 

Close couch 'd upon the heathery moor; 

Them couldst thou reach ! — it may not be — f 

take care of the ambush that was set for him. The ma- 
niacs of poetry have, indeed, had a prescriptive right to 
be musical since the days of Ophelia downwards ; but it 
is rather a rash extension of this privilege to make 
them sing good sense, and to make seasible people be 
guided by them." — Jeffrey. 

* MS. : "Forth at full speed the Clansman went; 
But in his race his bow he bent, 
Halted — and back an arrow sent." 

f MS. : "It may not be — 

The fiery Saxon gains on thee, 
Thine ambush'd kin thou ne'er shalt see! 
Resistless as the lightning's flame, 
The thrust betwixt his shoulder came." 



166 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Thine ambush' d kin thou ne'er shall see, 
The fiery Saxon gains on thee ! — 
Resistless speeds the deadly thrust, 
As lightning strikes the pine to dust ; 
With foot and hand Fitz-James must strain, 
Ere he can win his blade again. 
Bent o'er the fall'n, with falcon eye,* 
He grimly smiled to see him die : 
Then slower wended back his way, 
Where the poor maiden bleeding lay. 

XXVII. 

She sate beneath the birchen tree, 

Her elbow resting on her knee; 

She had withdrawn the fatal shaft, 

And gazed on it, and feebly laugh'd; 

Her wreath of broom and feathers gray, 

Daggled with blood, beside her lay. 

The Knight to stanch the life-stream tried. 

" Stranger, it is in vain!" she cried. 

"This hour of death has given me more 

Of reason's power than years before, 

For, as these ebbing veins decay, 

My frenzied visions fade away. 

A helpless injured wretch I die,f 

And something tells me in thine eye, 

That thou wert mine avenger born. — 

Seest thou this tress? — O, still I've worn 

This little tress of yellow hair, 

Through danger, frenzy, and despair ! 

* MS. : "Them o'er him hung, with falcon eye 
And grimly smil'd to see him die." 

t MS. : "A guiltless injured wretch I die." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 167 

It once was bright and clear as thine, 
But blood and tears have dimm'd its shine. 
I will not tell thee when 'twas shred, 
Nor from what guiltless victim's head — 
My brain would turn ! — but it shall wave* 
Like plumage on thy helmet brave, 
Till sun and wind shall bleach the stain, 
And thou wilt bring it me again. — 
I waver still. — O God! more bright 
Let reason beam her parting light ! — 
O! by thy knighthood's honor'd sign, 
And for thy life preserved by mine, 
When thou shalt see a darksome man, 
Who boasts him Chief of Alpine's clan, 
With tartans broad and shadowy plume, 
And hand of blood, and brow of gloom, 
Be thy heart bold, thy weapon strong, 
And wreak poor Blanche of Devan's wrong. 
They watch for thee by pass and fell . . . 
Avoid the path . . . O God! . . . farewell!' 

XXVIII. 

A kindly heart had brave Fitz- James; 
Fast pour'd his eyes at pity's claims; 
And now with mingled grief and ire, 
He saw the murdered maid expire. 
4 'God, in my need, be my relief, f 
As I wreak this on yonder Chief!" 
A lock from Blanche's tresses fair 
He blended with her bridegroom's hair; 

* MS. : "But now, my champion, — it shall wave." 

t MS. : "God in my need, to me be true, 

As I wreak this on Roderick Dhu." 



168 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

The mingled braid in blood he dyed, 

And placed it on his bonnet-side: 

4 'By him whose word is truth! I swear 

No other favor will I wear, 

Till this sad token I imbrue 

In the best blood of Roderick Dhu ! — 

But hark! what means yon faint halloo? 

The chase is up, — but they shall know, 

The stag at bay's a dangerous foe. " 

Barr'd from the known but guarded way, 

Through copse and cliff Fitz- James must stray, 

And oft must change his desperate track, 

By stream and precipice turn'd back. 

Heartless, fatigued, and faint, at length, 

From lack of food and loss of strength, 

He couch'd him in a thicket hoar, 

And thought his toils, and perils o'er: — 

44 Of all my rash adventures past, 

This frantic feat must prove the last! 

Who e'er so mad but might have guess'd, 

That all this Highland hornet's nest 

Would muster up in swarms so soon 

As e'er they heard of bands at Doune? — 

Like bloodhounds now they search me out, — 

Hark to the whistle and the shout ! — 

If farther through the wilds I go, 

I only fall upon the foe: 

I'll couch me here till evening gray, 

Then darkling try my dangerous way." 

XXIX. 

The shades of eve come slowly down, 
The woods are wrapt in deeper brown, 
The owl awakens from the dell, 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 169 

The fox is heard upon the fell; 

Enough remains of glimmering light 

To guide the wanderer's steps aright, 

Yet not enough from far to show 

His figure to the watchful foe. 

With cautious step, and ear awake, 

He climbs the crag and threads the brake; 

And not the summer solstice there 

Temper'd the midnight mountain air, 

But every breeze that swept the wold 

Benumb'd his drenched limbs with cold. 

In dread, in danger, and alone, 

Famish'd and chill'd, through ways unknown, 

Tangled and steep, he journey'd on; 

Till, at the rock's huge point he turned, 

A watch-fire close before him burn'd. 

XXX. 

Beside its embers red and clear,* 

Bask'd, in his plaid, a mountaineer; 

And up he sprung with sword in hand, — 

44 Thy name and purpose! Saxon, stand!" — 

"A stranger." — "What dost thou require?" — 

"Rest and a guide, and food and fire. 

My life's beset, my path is lost, 

The gale has chill'd my limbs with frost." — 

"Art thou a friend to Roderick?"— "No."— 

"Thou dar'st call thy self a foe?"— 

* ' I dare ! to him and all his bandf 

* MS. : "By the decaying flame was laid 

A warrior in his Highland plaid." 

f MS. : "I dare ! to him and all the swarm 

He brings to aid his murderous arm." 



170 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

He brings to aid his murderous hand/' — 

"Bold words! — but, though the beast of game 

The privilege of chase may claim, 

Though space and law the stag we lend, 

Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend, 

Who ever reck'd, where, how, or when, 

The prowling fox was trapp'd or slain?* 

Thus treacherous scouts, — yet sure they lie, 

Who say thou cam'st a secret spy!" 

"They do, by heaven! — Come Roderick Dhu, 

And of his clan the boldest two, 

And let me but till morning rest, 

I write the falsehood on their crest." — 

"If by their blaze I mark aright, 

Thou bear'st the belt and spur of Knight." 

"Then by these tokens mayst thou know 

Each proud oppressor's mortal foe." — 

"Enough, enough; sit down and share 

A soldier's couch, a soldier's fare." 

XXXI. 

He gave him of his Highland cheer, 
The harden'd flesh of mountain deer;f 

* St. John actually used this illustration when engaged 
in confuting the plea of law proposed for the unfortun- 
ate Earl of Strafford: "It was true we gave laws to 
hares and deer, because they are beasts of chase ; but 
it was never accounted either cruelty or foul play to 
knock foxes or wolves on the head as they can be found, 
because they are beasts of prey. In a word, the law 
and humanity were alike; the one being more fallaci- 
ous, and the other more barbarous, than in any age had 
been vented in such an authority." — Clarendon's His- 
tory of the Rebellion. Oxford, 1702, fol. vol. p. 183. 

f The Scottish Highlanders, in former times, had a 
concise mode of cooking their venison, or rather of 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 171 

Dry fuel on the fire he laid, 
And bade the Saxon share his plaid. 
He tended him like welcome guest, 
Then thus his further speech address'd. 
4 'Stranger, I am to Roderick Dhu 
A clansman born, a kinsman true ; 
Each word against his honor spoke, 
Demands of me avenging stroke ; 
Yet more, — upon thy fate, 'tis said, 
A mighty augury is laid. 

dispensing with cooking it, which appears greatly to 
have surprised the French whom chance made 
acquainted with it. The Vidame of Chartres, when a 
hostage in England, during the reign of Edward VI. 
was permitted to travel into Scotland, and penetrated 
as far as the remote Highlands (au fin fond des 
Sauvages). After a great hunting party, at which a 
most wonderful quantity of game was destroyed, he 
saw these Scottish savages devour a part of their ven- 
ison raw, without any further preparation than com- 
pressing it between two batons of wood, so as to force 
out the blood, and render it extremely hard. This they 
reckoned a great delicacy ; and when the Vidame par- 
took of it, his compliance with their taste rendered him 
extremely popular. This curious trait of manners was 
communicated by M. de Montmorency, a great friend 
of the Vidame, to Brantome, by whom it is recorded 
in Vies des Hommes Illustres, Discours, lxxxix. art. 14.. 
The process by which the raw venison was rendered 
eatable is described very minutely in the romance of 
Perceforest, where Estonne, a Scottish knight-errant, 
having slain a deer, says to his companion" Claudius: 
"Sire, or mangerez vous, et moy aussi. Voire si nous 
auions de feu, dit Claudius. Par Tame de mon pere, 
dist Estonne, ie vous atourneray et cuiray a la maniere 
de nostre pays comme pour cheualier errant. Lors tira 
son espee, et sen vint a la branche dung arbre, et y fait 
vng grant trou, et puis fend la branche bien dieux piedx, 
et boute la cuisse du cerf entre deux, et puis prent le 



172 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

It rests with me to wind my horn, — 
Thou art with numbers overborne ; 
It rests with me, here, brand to brand, 



licoi de son cheval, et en lye la branche, et destraint si 
fort, que le sang et les humeurs de la chair saillient hors, 
et demeure la chaire doulce et seiche. Lors prent la 
chair et oste ius le cuir, et la chaire demeure aussi blanche 
comme si ce feust dung chappon. Dont dist a Claudius, 
Sire, ie la vous ay cuiste a la guise de mon pays, vous en 
pouez manger hardyement, car ie mangeray premier. 
Lors met sa main a sa selle en vng lieu quil y auoit et 
tire hors sel et poudre de poiure et gingembre, mesle en- 
semble, et le iecte dessus, et le frote sus bien fort, puis 
le couppe a moytie et en donne aClaudius Tune des pieces, 
et puis mort en l'autre aussi sauoureusement quil est 
aduis que il en feist la pouldre voller. Quant Claudius 
veit quil le mangeoit de tel goust, il en print grant faim, 
et commence a manger, tresvoulentiers, et dist a Es- 
tonne: Par l'ame de moy, ie ne mangeay oncquesmais 
de chair atournee de tell guise: mais doresenauant ie 
ne me retourneroye pas hors de mon chemin par auoir 
la cuite. Sire, dist Estonne, quant is suis en desers 
d'Escosse, dont ie suis seigneur, ie cheuancheray 
huit iours ou quinze ie d'entreray en chastel ne en 
maison, et si ne verray feu ne personne viuant fors 
que bestes sauuages, et de celles mangeray atournees 
en ceste maniere, et mieulx me plaira que la viande 
de l'empereur. Ainsi sen vont mangeant et cheuau- 
chant iusques adonc quilz arriuerent sur une moult belle 
f ontaine que estoit en vne valee. Quant Estonne la vit 
il dist a Claudius, allons boire a ceste fontaine. Or 
beuuons, dist Estonne, du boire que le grant dieu a 
pourueu a toutes gens, et que me plaist mieulx que les 
ceruoises d'Angleterre." — La Treselegante Hystoire du 
tresnoble Roy Perceforest. Paris, 153 1, fol. tome i. 
fol. lv. vers. 

After all, it may be doubted whether la chaire nostree, 
for so the French called the venison thus summarily 
prepared, was anything more than a mere rude kind 
of deer-ham. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 173 

Worn as thou art, to bid thee stand : 

But, not for clan, nor kindred's cause, 

Will I depart from honor's laws; 

To assail a wearied man were shame, 

And stranger is a holy name ; 

Guidance and rest, and food and fire 

In vain he never must require. 

Then rest thee here till dawn of day; 

Myself will guide thee on the way, 

O'er stock and stone, through watch and ward, 

Till past Clan-Alpine's outmost guard, 

As far as Coilantogle's ford; 

From thence thy warrant is thy sword. ' ' — 

4i I take thy courtesy, by Heaven, 

As freely as 'tis nobly given!" 

"Well, rest thee; for the bittern's cry 

Sings us the lake's wild lullaby." 

With that he shook the gather'd heath, 

And spread his plaid upon the wreath ; 

And the brave foeman, side by side, 

Lay peaceful down like brothers tried, 

And slept until the dawning beam* 

Purpled the mountain and the stream. 

* MS. : "And slept until the dawning streak 

Purpled the mountain and the lake." 



CANTO FIFTH. 

THE COMBATS 



Fair as the earliest beam of eastern light, 

When first, by the wilder'd pilgrim spied, 
It smiles upon the dreary brow of night, 

And silvers o'er the torrent's foaming tide, 
And lights the fearful path on mountain side ; — * 

Fair as that beam, although the fairest far, 
Giving to horror grace, to danger pride, 

Shine martial Faith, and Courtesy's bright 
star, 
Through all the wreckful storms that cloud the 
brow of War. 

ii. 

That early beam, so fair and sheen, 
Was twinkling through the hazel screen, 
When, rousing at its glimmer red, 
The warriors left their lowly bed, 
Look'd out upon the dappled sky, 
Mutter' d their soldier matins by, 
And then awaked their fire, to steal, 
As short in rude, their soldier meal. 
That o'er, the Gael f around him threw 



* MS. : "And lights the fearful way along its side." 
| The Scottish Highlander calls himself Gael, or Gaul, 
and terms the Lowlanders, Sassenach, or Saxons. 

174 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 175 

His graceful plaid of varied hue, 
And true to promise, led the way, 
By thicket green and mountain gray. 
A wildering path ! — they winded now 
Along the precipice's brow, 
Commanding the rich scenes beneath, 
The windings of the Forth and Teith, 
And all the vales between that lie, 
Till Stirling's turrets melt in sky; 
Then, sunk in copse, their farthest glance 
Gain'd not the length of horseman's lance. 
'Twas oft so steep, the foot was fain 
Assistance from the hand to gain ; 
So tangled oft that, bursting through, 
Each hawthorn shed her showers of dew, 
That diamond dew, so pure and clear, 
It rivals all but Beauty's tear. 

in. 

At length they came where, stern and steep,* 
The hill sinks down upon the deep. 
Here Vennachar in silver flows, 
There, ridge on ridge, Benledi rose; 
Ever the hollow t>ath twined on, 
Beneath steep bank and threatening stone 
An hundred men might hold the post 
With hardihood against a host. 
The rugged mountain's scanty cloak 
Was dwarfish shrubs of birch and oak,f 



* MS. : M At length they paced the mountain's side, 

And saw beneath the waters wide." 
t MS. : "The rugged mountains stunted screen 

Was dwarfish \ s il r ^ s I with cliffs between. 
( copse ) 



>» 



176 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

With shingles bare, and cliffs between, 

And patches bright of bracken green, 

And heather black, that waved so high, 

It held the copse in rivalry. 

But where the lake slept, deep and still, 

Dank osiers fringed the swamp and hill ; 

And oft both path and hill were torn, 

Where wintry torrents down had borne, 

And heap'd upon the cumber'd land 

Its wrecks of gravel, rocks, and sand. 

So toilsome was the road to trace, 

The guide, abating of his pace, 

Led slowly through the pass's jaws, 

And ask'd Fitz- James by what strange cause 

He sought these wilds, traversed by few, 

Without a pass from Roderick Dhu. 

IV. 

"Brave Gael, my pass in danger tried, 
Hangs in my belt, and by my side; 
Yet, sooth to tell, ' ' the Saxon said, 
"I dreamt not now to claim its aid.* 
When here, but three days since, I came, 
Bewilder'd in pursuit of game, 
All seem'd as peaceful and as still, 
As the midst slumbering on yon hill ; 
Thy dangerous Chief was then afar, 
Nor soon expected back from war. 
Thus said, at least my mountain-guide, 
Though deep, perchance, the villain lied. " 
1 'Yet why a second venture try?" 
"A warrior thou, and ask me why! — 

* MS. : "I dreamed not now to draw my blade. " 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 177 

Moves our free course by such fix'd cause 
As gives the poor mechanic laws? 
Enough, I sought to drive away 
The lazy hours of peaceful day ; 
Slight cause will then suffice to guide 
A Knight's free footsteps far and wide, — * 
A falcon flown, a greyhound stray'd, 
The merry glance of mountain maid : 
Or, if a path be dangerous known, 
The danger's self is lure alone.' ' 



"Thy secret keep, I urge thee not; — f 
Yet, ere again ye sought this spot, 
Say, heard ye naught of Lowland war, 
Against Clan-Alpine, rais'd by Mar?" 
— "No, by my word; — of bands prepared 
To guard King James's sports I heard; 
Nor doubt I aught, but when they hear 
This monster of the mountaineer, 
Their pennons will abroad be flung, 
Which else in Doune had peaceful hung." — J 
"Free be they flung! for we were loth 
Their silken folds should feast the moth. 
Free be they flung! — as free shall wave 
Clan-Alpine's pine in banner brave. 
But, Stranger, peaceful since you came, 
Bewilder'd in the mountain -game, 
Whence the bold boast by which you show 

* MS. : "My errant footsteps > i „ , . , ,, 

A knight's bold wanderings \ far and Wlde * 
t MS. : "Thy secret keep, I ask it not" 
% MS. : "Which else in hall had peaceful hung." 
12 



13$ THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



Vich- Alpine's vow'd and mortal foe?"— 
"Warrior, but y ester-morn, I knew 
Naught of thy Chieftain, Roderick Dhu, 
Save as an outlaw'd desperate man, 
The chief of a rebellious clan, 
Who in the Regent's court and sight, 
With ruffian dagger stabb'd a knight; 
Yet this alone might from his part. 
Sever each true and loyal heart. ' ' 

VI. 

Wrathful of such arraignment foul, 
Dark lower 'd the clansman's sable scowl. 
A space he paused, then sternly said, 
"And heard'st thou why he drew his blade? 
Heardst thou that shameful word and blow 
Brought Roderick's vengeance on his foe? 
What reck'd the Chieftain if he stood 
On Highland heath, or Holy- Rood? 
He rights such wrong where it is given, 
If it were in the court of heaven." — 
"Still was it outrage; — yet, 'tis true, 
Not then claim 'd sovereignty his due; 
While Albany, with feeble hand, 
Held borrow'd truncheon of command, 
The young King mew'd in Stirling tower, 
Was stranger to respect and power.* 

* There is scarcely a more disorderly period in Scot 
tish history than that which succeeded the battle o 
Flodden, and occupied the minority of James V. Feudi 
of ancient standing broke out like old wounds, and even 
quarrel among the independent nobility, which occurrec 
daily, and almost hourly, gave rise to fresh bloodshed 
"There arose," says Pitscottie, "great trouble an( 
deadly feuds in many parts of Scotland, both in th< 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 179 

But then, thy Chieftain's robber life! — 
Winning mean prey by causeless strife, 
Wrenching from ruin'd Lowland swain 
His herds and harvest rear'd in vain, — 
Me thinks a soul like thine should scorn 
The spoils from such foul foray borne. ' ' 

VII. 

The Gael beheld him grim the while, 
And answered with disdainful smile, — 
"Saxon, from yonder mountain high, 
I mark'd thee send delighted eye 
Far to the south and east, where lay, 
Extended in succession gay, 
Deep waving fields and pastures green, 
With gentle slopes and groves between : 
These fertile plains, that soften'd vale, 
Were once the birthright of the Gael ; 
The stranger came with iron hand, 

north and west parts. The Master of Forbes, in the 
north, slew the Laird of Meldrum, under tryst;" (i. e., 
at an agreed and secure meeting:) "Likewise, the 
Laird of Drummelzier slew the Lord Fleming at the 
hawking ; and, likewise there was slaughter among many 
other great lords. " — P. 121. Nor was the matter much 
mended under the government of the Earl of Angus: 
for though he caused the King to ride through all Scot- 
land, "under the pretence and color of justice, to punish 
thief and traitor, none were found greater than were in 
their own company; and none at that time durst strive 
with a Douglas, nor yet a Douglas' man; for if they 
would, they got the worst. Therefore, none durst plain- 
zie of no extortion, theft, reiff, nor slaughter, done to 
them by the Douglasses, or their men ; in that cause 
they were not heard so long as the Douglas had the 
court in guiding." — Ibid. p. 133. 



180 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And from our fathers reft the land. 

Where dwell we now? See rudely swell 

Crag over crag, and fell o'er fell. 

Ask we this savage hill we tread, 

For fatten'd steer or household bread, 

Ask we for flocks these shingles dry, 

And well the mountain might reply, — 

4 To you, as to your sires of yore, 

Belong the target and claymore ! 

I give you shelter in my breast, 

Your own good blades must win the rest. f 

Pent in this fortress of the North, 

Think' st thou we will not sally forth, 

To spoil the spoiler as we may, 

And from the robber rend the prey? 

Ay, by my soul ! — While on yon plain 

The Saxon rears one shock of grain; 

While, of ten thousand herds, there stray; 

But one along yon river's maze, — 

The Gael, of plain and river heir, 

Shall, with strong hand, redeem his share. 

Where live the mountain Chiefs who hold 

That plundering Lowland field and fold 

Is aught but retribution true? 

Seek other cause 'gainst Roderick Dim." — * 

* The ancient Highlanders verified in their practice 

the lines of Gray : — 

"An iron race the mountain cliffs maintain, 
Foes to the gentler genius of the plain; 
For where unwearied sinews must be found, 
'With side-long plough to quell the flinty ground,; 
To turn the torrents swift descending flood; 
To tame the savage rushing from the wood; 
What wonder if, to patient valor train'd, 
They guard with spirit what by strength they gain'd: 
And while their rocky ramparts round they see 
The rough abode of want and liberty, 
{As lawless force from confidence will grow), 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 181 

VIII. 

Answer 'd Fitz- James, — "And, if I sought, 

Think'st thou no other could be brought? 

What deem ye of my path waylaid? 

My life given o'er to ambuscade ?" — 

"As of a meed to rashness due: 

Hadst thou sent warning fair and true, — 

I seek my hound, or falcon stray'd, 

I seek, good faith, a Highland maid, — 

Free hadst thou been to come and go, 

But secret path marks secret foe. 

Nor yet, for this, even as a spy, 

Hadst thou, unheard, been doom'd to die, 

Save to fulfil an augury." — 

"Well, let it pass; nor will I now 

Insult the plenty of the vales below?" 
— Fragment on the Alliance of Education and Government. 

So far, indeed, was a Creagh, or foray, from being 
held disgraceful, that a yotmg chief was always expected 
to show his talents for command so soon as he assumed 
it, by leading his clan on a successful enterprise of this 
nature, either against a neighboring sept, for which con- 
stant feuds usually furnished an apology, or against the 
Sassenach, Saxons, or Lowlanders, for which no apology 
was necessary. The Gael, great traditional historians, 
never forgot that the Lowlands had, at some remote 
period, been the property of their Celtic forefathers, 
which furnished an ample vindication of all the ravages 
that they could make on the unfortunate districts, which 
lay within their reach. Sir James Grant of Grant is in 
possession of a letter of apology from Cameron of 
Lochiel, whose men had committed some depredation 
upon a farm called Moines, occupied by one of the 
Grants. Lochiel assures Grant, that, however the mis- 
take had happened, his instructions were precise, that 
the party should foray the province of Moray (a Low- 
land district), where, as he coolly observes, "all men 
take their prey. ' * 



182 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Fresh cause of enmity avow, 

To chafe thy mood and cloud thy brow. 

Enough, I am by promise tied 

To match me with this man of pride : 

Twice have I sought Clan- Alpine's glen 

In peace ; but when I come again, 

I come with banner, brand, and bow, 

As leader seeks his mortal foe. 

For love-lorn swain, in lady's bower, 

Ne'er panted for the appointed hour, 

As I, until before me stand 

This rebel Chieftain and his band!"* 

IX. 

"Have, then, thy wish!" — he whistled shrill, 

And he was answer'd from the hill; 

Wild as the scream of the curlew, 

From crag to crag the signal flew.f 

Instant, through copse and heath, arose 

Bonnets and spears and bended bows: 

On right, on left, above, below, 

Sprung up at once the lurking foe ; 

From shingles gray their lances start, 

The bracken brush sends forth the dart, X 

The rushes and the willow-wand 

Are bristling into axe and brand, 

And every tuft of broom gives life § 

*MS. : "This dark Sir Roderick > - .- . OT> A „ 
This savage Chieftain ^and his band. 

f MS. : "From copse to copse the signal flew. 

Instant, through copse and crags arose." 
% MS. : "The bracken bush shoots forth the dark" 
§ MS. : * 'And each lone tuft of broom gives life 

To plaided warrior arm'd for strife. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 183 

To plaided warrior arm'd for strife. 
That whistle garrison 'd the glen 
At once with full five hundred men, 
As if the yawning hill to heaven 
A subterranean host had given.* 
Watching their leader's beck and will,f 
All silent there they stood, and still. 
Like the loose crags whose threatening mass 
Lay tottering o'er the hollow pass, 
As if an infant's touch could urge 
Their headlong passage down the verge, 
With step and weapon forward flung, 
Upon the mountain-side they hung. 
The Mountaineer cast glance of pride 
Along Benledi's living side, 
Then fix'd his eye and sable brow 

That whistle manned the lonely glen 
With full five hundred armed men." 

* The Monthly Review says: — "We now come to the 
chef d'ceuvre of Walter Scott, — a scene of more vigor, 
nature, and animation, than any other in all his poe- 
try." Another anonymous critic of the poem is not 
afraid to quote, with reference to the effect of this pas- 
sage, the sublime language of the Prophet Ezekiel: — 
"Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, pro- 
phesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the 
Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and 
breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I pro- 
phesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into 
them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an 
exceeding great army." — Chap, xxxvii. v. 9, 10. 
t MS. : "All silent, too, they stood, and still, 

Watching their leader's beck and will, 
While forward step and weapon show 
They long to rush upon the foe, 
Like the loose crag, whose tottering mass 
Hung threatening o'er the hollow pass." 



184 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Full on Fitz-James — "How say'st thou now? 
These are Clan- Alpine's warriors true; 
And, Saxon, — I am Roderick Dim!" 

Fitz-James was brave: — though to his heart 

The life-blood thrill' d with sudden start, 

He mann'd himself with dauntless air, 

Return'd the Chief his haughty stare, 

His back against a rock he bore, 

And firmly placed his foot before: — 

"Come one, come all! this rock shall fly 

From its firm base as soon as I. ' ' 

Sir Roderick mark'd, — and in his eyes 

Respect was mingled with surprise, 

And the stern joy which warriors feel 

In foemen worthy of their steel. 

Short space he stood — then waved his hand; 

Down sunk the disappearing band ; 

Each warrior vanish' d where he stood, 

In broom or bracken, heath or wood; 

Sunk brand and spear and bended bow, 

In osiers pale and copses low ; 

It seem'd as if their mother Earth 

Had swallow'd up her warlike birth. 

The wind's last breath had toss'd in air, 

Pennon, and plaid, and plumage fair, — 

The next but swept a lone hill-side, 

Where heath and fern were waving wide ; 

The sun's last glance was glinted back 

From spear and glaive, from targe and jack,- 

The next, all unreflected shone 

On bracken green and cold gray stone. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 185 

XI. 

Fitz-James look'd round — yet scarce believed 

The witness that his sight received; 

Such apparition well might seem 

Delusion of a dreadful dream. 

Sir Roderick in suspense he eyed, 

And to his look the Chief replied: 

44 Fear naught — nay, that I need not say — 

But — doubt not aught from mine array. 

Thou art my guest ; —I pledge my word 

As far as Coilantogle ford : 

Nor would I call a clansman's brand 

For aid against one valiant hand,* 

Though on our strife lay every vale 

Rent by the Saxon from the Gael.f 

So move we on; — I only meant 

To show the reed on which you leant, 

Deeming this path you might pursue 

Without a pass from Roderick Dhu. "J 

* MS. : "For aid against one brave man's hand." 
t "This scene is excellently described. The frank- 
ness and high-souled courage of the two warriors, — the 
reliance which the Lowlander places on the word of 
the Highlander to guide him safely on his way the 
next morning, although he has spoken threatening 
and violent words against Roderick, whose kinsman 
the mountaineer professes himself to be, — these circum- 
stances are all admirably imagined and related." — 
Monthly Review. 

X This incident, like some other passages in the poem, 
illustrative of the character of the ancient Gael, is not 
imaginary, but borrowed from fact. The Highlanders, 
with the inconsistency of most nations in the same 
state, were alternately capable of great exertions of 
generosity, and of cruel revenge and perfidy. The 
following story I can only quote from tradition, but 



186 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

They moved: — I said Fitz- James was brave, 
As ever knight that belted glaive; 
Yet dare not say, that now his blood 
Kept on its wont and temper'd flood, 
As, following Roderick's stride, he drew 
That seeming lonesome pathway through, 
Which yet, by fearful proof, was rife 
With lances, that, to take his life, 
Waited but signal from a guide, 
So late dishonored and defied. 

with such an assurance from those by whom it was 
communicated, as permits me little doubt of its authen- 
ticity. Early in the last century, John Gunn, a noted 
Cateran, or Highland robber, infested Inverness-shire, 
and levied black-mail up to the walls of the provincial 
capital. A garrison was then maintained in the castle 
of that town, and their pay (country banks being 
unknown) was usually transmitted in specie, under the 
guard of a small escort It chanced that the officer 
who commanded this little party was unexpectedly 
obliged to halt, about thirty miles from Inverness, at a 
miserable inn. About nightfall, a stranger, in the High- 
land dress, and of very prepossessing appearance, 
entered the same house. Separate accommodation being 
impossible, the Englishman offered the newly-arrived 
guest a part of his supper, which was accepted with 
reluctance. By the conversation he found his new 
acquaintance knew well all the passes of the country, 
which induced him eagerly to request his company on 
the ensuing morning. He 'neither disguised his busi- 
ness and charge, nor his apprehensions of that cele- 
brated freebooter John Gunn. — The Highlander hesi- 
tated for a moment, and then frankly consented to be 
his guide. Forth they set in the morning ; and, in 
traveling through a solitary and dreary glen, the dis- 
course again turned on John Gunn. "Would you like 
to see him?" said the guide; and, without waiting an 
answer to his alarming question, he whistled, and the 
English officer, with his small party, were surrounded 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 181 

E"er. by stealth, his eye sought round 
The vanish'd guardians :: the ground, 

And still, from copse and heather deep, 
Fancy saw s-;~ar a.nd broadsword peep* 
And in the plover's shrilly strain, 
The signal whistle heard again. 
Nor breathed he free till far behind 
The pass was left; for then they wind 
Along a wide and level green, 
Where ne::he~ tree nor turf was seen, 
Nor rush nor bush of broom was near, 
e a bonnet ;r a spear. 

XII. 

The Chief in silence strode before, 

And reach'd that torrent's sounding shore, 

Which, daughter of three mighty leches. 

From Vennachar in silver breahy 

Sweeps through the plain, and ceasele— mines 

On Eochastle :he mouldering lines,-} 

by a body oi Highlanders, ariose numbers put resist- 
ance out of question, and whc ere all well armed. 
Stranger," resumed the guide, "I am that very John 
Germ by mhom yon feared to he intercepted, arc not 
without cause: for I came to the inn las: night with 
the express purpose :: iearring- yourrcr.m that lam; 
my followers might ease you of your charge by the 
road ha: I am incapable ::' Graying the trust yon 
reposed in me and having convinced you ma: yon 
in my power, I can only dismiss you unplnndered and 
uninjured.' He then gave the officer directions :cr his 
journey, and disarm rare a with his party as suddenly as 
they dec presented themselves. 

* M S . "Anas : i 1 1 from copse and h e a :'-. e r c a s "r. . 
Fancy sa-v spear and broads to^g r us h . 
I MS. : "On Bochastle the mania*, dues." 



188 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Where Rome, the Empress of the world, 
Of yore her eagle wings unfurl'd.* 
And here his course the Chieftain staid, 
Threw down his target and his plaid, 
And to the Lowland warrior said : — 
"Bold Saxon! to his promise just, 
Vich- Alpine has discharged his trust. 
This murderous Chief, this ruthless man, 



-The torrent which discharges itself from Loch 
Vennachar, the lowest and eastmost of the three lakes 
which form the scenery adjoining to the Trosachs, 
sweeps through a flat and extensive moor, called 
Bochastle, and indeed on the plain itself, are some 
intrenchments, which have been thought Roman. 
There is, adjacent to Callander, a sweet villa, the resi- 
dence of Captain Fairfoul, entitled the Roman Camp. 

"One of the most entire and beautiful remains of a 
Roman encampment now to be found in Scotland, is to 
be seen at Ardoch, near Greenloaming, about six miles 
to the eastward of Dunblane. This encampment is sup- 
posed, on good grounds, to have been constructed dur- 
ing the fourth campaign of Agricola in Britain; it is 
1060 feet in length, and 900 in breadth; it could contain 
26,000 men, according to the ordinary distribution of 
the Roman soldiers in their encampments. There 
appears to have been three or four ditches, strongly 
fortified, surrounding the camp. The four entries 
crossing the lines are still to be seen distinctly. The 
general's quarter rises above the level of the camp, 
but is not exactly in the centre. It is a regular square 
of twenty yards enclosed with a stone wall, and contain- 
ing the foundations of a house, thirty feet by twenty. 
There is a subterraneous communication with a smaller 
encampment at a little distance, in which several 
Roman hemlets, spears, etc., have been found. From 
this camp at Ardoch, the great Roman highway runs 
east to Bertha, about fourteen miles distant, where the 
Roman army is believed to have passed over the Tay 
into Strathmore." — Graham. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 189 

This head of a rebellious clan, 

Hath led thee safe, through watch and ward, 

Far past Clan-Alpines's outmost guard. 

Now, man to man, and steel to steel, 

A Chieftain's vengeance thou shalt feel. 

See, here all vantageless I stand, 

Arm'd like thyself, with single brand;* 

For this is Coilantogle ford, 

And thou must keep thee with thy sword." 

XIII. 

The Saxon paused: "I ne'er delay 'd, 

When foeman bade me draw my blade ; 

Nay, more, brave Chief, I vowed thy death; 

Yet sure thy fair and generous faith, 

And my deep debt for life preserved, 

A better meed have well deserved ; 

Can nought but blood our feud atone? 

Are there no means?" — "No, Stranger, none! 

And here, — to fire thy flagging zeal, — 

The Saxon cause rests on thy steel; 

For thus spoke Fate by prophet bred 

Between the living and the dead: 

'Who spills the foremost foeman 's life, 

His party conquers in the strife.' " — 

"Then, by my word," the Saxon said, 

"The riddle is already read. 

Seek yonder brake beneath the cliff, — 

There lies Red Murdoch, stark and stiff. 

Thus Fate has solved her prophecy ; 

Then yield to Fate, and not to me. 

To James, at Stirling, let us go, 

* See Appendix, Note N. 



190 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

When, if thou wilt be still his foe, 
Or if the King shall not agree 
To grant thee grace and favor free, 
I plight mine honor, oath, and word, 
That to thy native strengths restored, 
With each advantage shall thou stand, 
That aids thee now to guard thy land. ' ' 

XIV. 

Dark lightning flashed from Roderick's eye: * 

44 Soars thy presumption, then, so high, 

Because a wretched kern ye slew, 

Homage to name of Roderick Dhu? 

He yields not, he, to man nor Fate ! f 

Thou add'st but fuel to my hate: — 

My clansman's blood demands revenge. 

Not yet prepared? — By heaven, I change 

My thought, and hold thy valor light 

As that of some vain carpet knight, 

Who ill deserved my courteous care, 

And whose best boast is but to wear 

A braid of his fair lady's hair." — 

44 1 thank thee, Roderick, for the word; 

It nerves my heart, it steels my sword; 

For I have sworn this braid to stain 

In the best blood that warms thy vein. 

Now, truce, farewell! and, ruth, begone! — 

Yet think not that by thee alone, 

Proud Chief! can courtesy be shown; 

Though not from copse, or heath, or cairn, 

Start at my whistle clansmen stern, 

* MS. : "In lightning flashM the Chief's dark eye." 
f MS. : "He stoops not, he, to James nor Fate." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 191 

Of this small horn one feeble blast 
Would fearful odds against thee cast. 
But fear not — doubt not — which thou wilt — 
We try this quarrel hilt to hilt. M 
Then each at once his falchion drew, 
Each on the ground his scabbard threw, 
Each look'd to sun, and stream, and plain, 
As what they ne'er might see again, 
Then foot, and point, and eye opposed, 
In dubious strife they darkly closed.* 

xv. 

Ill fared it then with Roderick Dhu, 
That on the field his targe he threw, f 

* "The two principal figures are contrasted with un- 
common felicity. Fitz-James, who more nearly resem- 
bles the French Henry the Fourth than the Scottish 
James V., is gay, amorous, fickle, intrepid, impetuous, 
affectionate, courteous, graceful, and dignified. Roder- 
ick is gloomy, vindictive, arrogant, undaunted, but con- 
stant in his affections, and true to his engagements; 
and the whole passage in which these personages are 
placed in opposition, from their first meeting to their 
final conflict, is conceived and written with a sublimity 
which has been rarely equaled."— Quarterly Review, 
1810. 

f A round target of light wood, covered with strong 
leather and studded with brass or iron, was a necessary 
part of a Highlander's equipment. In charging regular 
troops, they received the thrust of the bayonet in this 
buckler, twisted it aside, and used the broadsword 
against the encumbered soldier. In the civil war of 
1745, most of the front rank of the clans were thus 
armed; and Captain Grose informs us, that in 1747, the 
privates of the 42d regiment, then in Flanders, were for 
the most part, permitted to carry targets. — Military 
Antiquities, vol. i. p. 164. A person thus armed had a 
considerable advantage in private fray. Among verses 



192 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Whose brazen studs and tough bull-hide 
Had death so often dash'd aside; 
For, train'd abroad his arms to wield, 
Fitz-James's blade was sword and shield.* 

between Swift and Sheridan, lately published by Dr. 
Barret, there is an account of such an encounter, in 
which the circumstances, and consequently the relative 
superiority of the combatants, are precisely the reverse 
of those in the text: — 

"A Highlander once fought a Frenchman at Margate, 

The weapons, a rapier, a backsword and target: 

Brisk Monsieur advanced as fast as he could, 

But all his fine pushes were caught in the wood, 

And Sawney, with backsword, did slash him and nick him, 

While t'other, enraged that he could not once prick him, 

Cried, 'Sirrah, you rascal, you son of a whore, 

Me will fight you, be gar! if you'll come from your door.' " 

* The use of defensive armor, and particularly of the 
buckler, or target, was general in Queen Elizabeth's 
time, although that of the single rapier seems to have 
been occasionally practiced much earlier. Rowland 
Yorke, however, who betrayed the fort of Zutphen to 
the Spaniards, for which good service he was afterwards 
poisoned by them, is said to have been the first who 
brought the rapier-fight into general use. Fuller, speak- 
ing of the swash-bucklers, or bullies of Queen Eliza- 
beth's time, says: — "West Smithneld was formerly 
called Ruffians' Hall, where such men usually met, 
casually or otherwise, to try masteries with sword and 
buckler. More were frightened than hurt, more hurt 
than killed therewith, it being accounted unmanly to 
strike beneath the knee. But since that desperate 
traitor Rowland Yorke first introduced thrusting with 
rapiers, sword and buckler are disused." In "The Two 
Angry Women of Abingdon," a comedy, printed in 
1599. we have a pathetic complaint: — "Sword and buck- 
ler fight begins to grow out of use. I am sorry for it ; I 
shall never see good manhood again. If it be once 
gone, this poking fight of rapier and dagger will come 
up; then a tall man, and a good sword-and-buckler 
man, will be spitted like a cat or rabbit." But the 
rapier had upon the continent long superseded, in pri- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 193 

He practiced every pass and ward, 
To thrust, to strike, to feint, to guard ; 
While less expert, though stronger far, 
The Gael maintain' d unequal war.* 
Three times in closing strife they stood, 
And thrice the Saxon blade drank blood; 
No stinted draught, no scanty tide, 
The gushing flood the tartans dyed. 
Fierce Roderick felt the fatal drain, 
And shower'd his blows like wintry rain; 
And, as firm rock, or castle-roof, 
Against the winter shower is proof, 
The foe, invulnerable still, 
Foil'd his wild rage by steady skill; 
Till, at advantage ta'en, his brand 
Forced Roderick's weapon from his hand, 
And backward borne upon the lea, 
Brought the proud Chieftain to his knee.f 

vate duel, the use of sword and shield. The masters 
of the noble science of defence were chiefly Italians. 
They made great mystery of their art and mode of 
instruction, never suffered any person to be present but 
the scholar who was to be taught, and even examined 
closets, beds, and other places of possible concealment. 
Their lessons often gave the most treacherous advan- 
tages ; for the challenger, having a right to choose his 
weapons, frequently selected some strange, unusual, 
and inconvenient kind of arms, the use of which he prac- 
ticed under these instructors, and thus killed at his ease 
his antagonist, to whom it was presented for the first 
time on the field of battle. See Bran tome's Discourse 
on Duels, and the work on the same subject, "is gente- 
ment ecrit," by the venerable Dr. Paris de Puteo. The 
Highlanders continued to use broadsword and target un- 
til disarmed after the affair of 1745-6. 

* MS. : "Not Roderick thus, though stronger far, 
More tall and more inured to war." 

f This couplet is not in the MS. 
13 



194 THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 



XVI. 

44 Now, yield thee, or by Him who made 

The world, thy heart's blood dyes my blade!" 

*'Thy threats, thy mercy, I defy! 

Let recreant yield, who fears to die."* 

* I have not ventured to render this duel so savagely 
desperate as that of the celebrated Sir Ewan of Lochiel, 
chief of the clan Cameron, called, from his sable com- 
plexion, Ewan Dhu. He was the last man in Scotland 
who maintained the royal cause during the great Civil 
War, and his constant incursions rendered him a very 
unpleasant neighbor to the republican garrison at Inver- 
lochy, now Fort William. The governor of the fort de- 
tached a party of three hundred men to lay waste Loch- 
iePs possessions, and cut down his trees; but, in a 
sudden and desperate attack made upon them by the 
chieftain with very inferior numbers, they were almost 
all cut to pieces. The skirmish is detailed in a curious 
memoir of Sir Ewan's life, printed in the Appendix of 
Pennant's Scottish Tour. 

"In this engagement, Lochiel himself had several 
wonderful escapes. In the retreat of the English, one 
of the strongest and bravest of the officers retired be- 
hind a bush, when he observed Lochiel pursuing, and 
seeing him unaccompanied with any, he leapt out and 
thought him his prey. They met one another with 
equal fury. The combat was long and doubtful; the 
English gentleman had by far the advantage in strength 
and size ; but Lochiel, exceeding him in nimbleness and 
agility, in the end tript the sword out of his hand ; they 
closed and wrestled, till both fell to the ground in each 
other's arms. The English officer got above Lochiel, 
and pressed him hard, but stretching forth his neck by 
attempting to disengage himself, Lochiel, who by this 
time had his hands at liberty, with his left hand seized 
him by the collar, and jumping at his extended throat, 
he bit it with his teeth quite through, and kept such a 
hold of his grasp, that he brought away his mouthful ; 
this, he said, was the sweetest bit he ever had in his 
lifetime."— Vol. i. p. 375. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 195 

— Like adder darting from his coil, 
Like wolf that dashes through the toil, 
Like mountain-cat who guards her young, 
Full at Fitz-James's throat he sprung;* 
Received, but reck'd not of a wound, 
And lock'd his arms his foeman round. — 
Now, gallant Saxon, hold thine own ! 
No maiden's hand is round thee thrown. 
That desperate grasp thy frame might feel, 
Through bars of brass and triple steel ! — 
They tug, they strain ! down, down they go, 
The Gael above, Fitz- James below. 
The Chieftain's gripe his throat compress'd, 
His knee was planted on his breast ; 
His clotted locks he backward threw, 
Across his brow his hand he drew, 
From blood and mist to clear his sight, 
Then gleam'd aloft his dagger bright! — 
But hate and fury ill supplied 
The stream of life's exhausted tide, 
And all too late the advantage came, 
To turn the odds of deadly game; 
For, while the dagger gleam'd on high, 
Reel'd soul and sense, reel'd brain and eye. 
Down came the blow ! but in the heath 
The erring blade found bloodless sheath. 
The struggling foe may now unclasp 
The fainting Chief's relaxing grasp; 
Unwounded from the dreadful close, 
But breathless all, Fitz-James arose, f 

* MS. : " 'Yield they alone who fear to die.' 

Like mountain-cat who guards her young, 
Full at Fitz-James's throat he sprung." 

f MS. : "Panting and breathless on the sands, 
But all unwounded, now he stands." 



196 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XVII. 

He falter'd thanks to Heaven for life, 

Redeem'd, unhoped, from desperate strife;* 

Next on his foe his look he cast, 

Whose every gasp appear'd his last; 

In Roderick's gore he dipped the braid — 

4 'Poor Blanche! thy wrongs are dearly paid; 

Yet with thy foe must die or live, 

The praise that Faith and Valor give. " 

With that he blew a bugle-note, 

Undid the collar from his throat, 

Unbonneted, and by the wave 

Sate down his brow and hands to lave. 

Then faint afar are heard the feetf 

Of rushing steeds in gallop fleet ; 

The sounds increase, and now are seen 

Four mounted, squires in Lincoln green; 

Two who bear lance, and two who lead, 

By loosen'd rein, a saddled steed; 

Each onward held his headlong course, 

And by Fitz-James rein'd up his horse, 

With wonder view'd the bloody spot — 

— "Exclaim not, gallants! question not. — 

You, Herbert and Luffness, alight, 

And bind the wounds of yonder knight ; 

Let the gray palfrey bear his weight, 

We destined for a fairer freight, 

And bring him on to Stirling straight ; 

I will before at better speed, 

* MS. : "Redeem'd, unhoped, from deadly strife; 

SCcLSt 
threw 
Whose every breath appear'd his last." 
f MS. : "Faint and afar are heard the feet." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 197 

To seek fresh horse and fitting weed. 
The sun rides high ; — I must be boune, 
To see the archer game at noon ; 
But lightly Bayard clears the lea. — 
De Vaux and Herries, follow me. 

XVIII. 

" Stand, Bayard, stand !" — the steed obey'd, 

With arching neck and bended head, 

And glancing eye and quivering ear, 

As if he loved his lord to hear. 

No foot Fitz-James in stirrup staid, 

No grasp upon the saddle laid, 

But wreath'd his left hand in the mane, 

And lightly bounded from the plain, 

Turn'd on the horse his armed heel, 

And stirr'd his courage with the steel. 

Bounded the fiery steed in air, 

The rider sate erect and fair, 

Then like a bolt from steel crossbow 

Forth launch' d, along the plain they go. 

They dash'd that rapid current through, 

And up Carhonie's hill they flew; 

Still at the gallop prick' d the Knight, 

His merrymen follow'd as they might. 

Along thy banks, swift Teith ! they ride, 

And in the race they mock thy tide ; 

Torry and Lendrick now are past, 

And Deanstown lies behind them cast ; 

They rise, the banner'd towers of Doune,* 

* The ruins of Doune Castle, formerly the residence 
of the Earles of Menteith, now the property of the Earl 
of Moray, are situated at the confluence of the Ardoch 
and the Teith. 



198 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

They sink in distant woodland soon ; 
Blair- Drummond sees the hoofs strike fire,* 
They sweep like breeze through Ochtertyre; 
They mark, just glance and disappear 
The lofty brow of ancient Kier; 
They bathe their courser's sweltering sides, 
Dark Forth ! amid thy sluggish tides, 
And on the opposing shore take ground, 
With plash, with scramble, and with bound. 
Right-hand they leave thy cliffs, Craig-Forthlf 
And soon the bulwark of the North, 
Gray Stirling, with her towers and town, 
Upon their fleet career look'd down. 

XIX. 

As up the flinty path they strain'd,J 

Sudden his steed the leader rein'd; 

A signal to his squire he flung, 

Who instant to his stirrup sprung: — 

"Seest thou, De Vaux, yon woodsman gray, 

Who town- ward holds the rocky way, 

Of stature tall and poor array? 

Mark' st thou the firm, yet active stride, 

* MS. : "Blair- Drummond saw their hoofs of fire." 

f It may be worth noting that the poet marks the pro- 
gress of the King by naming in succession places famil- 
iar and dear to his own early recollections — Blair-Drum- 
mond, the seat of the Homes of Kaimes; Kier, that of 
the principal family of the name of Stirling; Ochtertyre, 
that of John Ramsay, the well-known antiquary, and 
correspondent of Burns; and Craigforth, that of the 
Callanders of Craigforth, almost under the walls of Stir- 
ling Castle ; — all hospitable roofs, under which he had 
spent many of his younger days. — Ed 

% MS. : "As up the steepy path thev strain'd. " 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 199 

With which he scales the mountain-side?* 
Know'st thou from whence he comes, or 

whom?" 
44 No, by my word; — a burly groom 
He seems, who in the field or chase 
A baron's train would nobly grace." — 
" Out, out, De Vaux! can fear supply, 
And jealousy, no sharper eye? 
Afar, ere to the hill he drew, 
That stately form and step I knew; 
Like form in Scotland is not seen, 
Treads not such step on Scottish green. 
'Tis James of Douglas, by Saint Serlelf 
The uncle of the banished Earl. 
Away, away, to court, to show 
The near approach of dreaded foe : 
The King must stand upon his guard ; 
Douglas and he must meet prepared." 
Then right-hand wheel'd their steeds, and 

straight 
They won the castle's postern gate. 

xx. 

The Douglas, who had bent his way 
From Cambus-Kenneth's abbey gray, 
Now, as he climb'd the rocky shelf, 
Held sad communion with himself: 



* MS. : "With which he gains the mountain-side.' ■ 
f The Edinburgh Reviewer remarks on "that unhappv 
couplet, where the King himself is in such distress for a 
rhyme as to be obliged to apply to one of the obscurest 
saints in the calendar." The reading of the MS. is— 
" 'Tis James of Douglas, by my word, 
The uncle of the banish'd lord." 



200 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

44 Yes! all is true my fears could frame; 
A prisoner lies the noble Graeme, 
And fiery Roderick soon will feel 
The vengeance of the royal steel, 
I, only I, can ward their fate, — 
God grant the ransom come not late ! 
The Abbess hath her promise given, 
My child shall be the bride of Heaven ; — 
Be pardon'd one ripening tear! 
For He, who gave her, knows how dear, 
How excellent ! — but that is by. 
And now my business is — to die. — 
Ye towers ! within whose circuit dread 
A Douglas by his sovereign bled ; 
And thou, O sad and fatal mound!* 

* An eminence on the northeast of the Castle, where 
state criminals were executed. Stirling was often pol- 
luted with noble blood. It is thus apostrophized by J. 
Johnston: 

"Discordia tristis 

Heu quoties procerum sanguine tinxit humum 

Hoc uno infelix, et f elix cetera ; nusquam 
Laetior aut coeli frons geniusve soli." 

The fate of William, eighth Earl of Douglas, whom 
James II. stabbed in Stirling Castle with his own hand, 
and while under his royal safe-conduct, is familiar to all 
who read Scottish history. Murdoch, Duke of Albany, 
Duncan, Earl of Lennox, his father-in-law, and his two 
sons, Walter and Alexander Stuart, were executed at 
Stirling in 1425. They were beheaded upon an eminence 
without the castle walls, but making part of the same 
hill, from whence they could behold their strong castle 
of Doune, and their extensive possessions. This "head- 
ing bill," as it was sometimes termed, bears commonly 
the less terrible name of Hurly-hacket, from its having 
been the scene of a courtly amusement alluded to by 
Sir David Lindsay, who says of the pastimes in which 
the young king was engaged: 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 201 

That oft has heard the death-axe sound, 

As on the noblest of the land 

Fell the stern headsman's bloody hand, — 

The dungeon, block, and nameless tomb. 

Prepare — for Douglas seeks his doom ! 

But hark ! what blithe and jolly peal 

Makes the Franciscan steeple reel? 

And see ! upon the crowded street, 

In motley groups what masquers meet! 

Banner and pageant, pipe and drum, 

And merry morrice-dancers come. 

I guess, by all this quaint array, 

The burghers hold their sports to-day,* 

James will be there, he loves such show, 

Where the good yeoman bends his bow, 

And the tough wrestler foils his foe, 

As well as where, in high career, 

The high-born tilter shivers spear. 

I'll follow to the castle park, 

And play my prize ; — King James shall mark, 

If age has tamed these sinews stark, 

Whose force so oft, in happier days, 

His boyish wonder loved to praise. " 

XXI. 

The castle gates were open flung, 

The quivering drawbridge rock'd and rung, 

And echo'd loud the flinty street 

"Some harled him to the Hurly-hacket ;" 
which consisted in sliding — in some sort of chair, it may 
be supposed, — from top to bottom of a smooth bank. 
The boys of Edinburgh, about twenty years ago, used 
to play at hurly-hacket, on the Calton Hill, using for 
their seat a horse's skull. 
* See Appendix, Note O. 



202 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Beneath the coursers' clattering feet, 

As slowly down the steep descent 

Fair Scotland's King and nobles went,* 

While all along the crowded way 

Was jubilee and loud huzza. 

And ever James was bending low, 

To his white jennet's saddle-bow, 

Doffing his cap to city dame, 

Who smiled and blush 'd for pride and shame, 

And well the simperer might be vain, — 

He chose the fairest of the train. 

Gravely he greets each city sire, 

Commend's each pageant's quaint attire, 

Gives to the dancers thanks aloud, 

And smiles and nods upon the crowd, 

Who rend the heavens with their acclaims, 

"Long live the Commons' King, King James!" 

Behind the King throng'd peer and knight, 

And noble dame and damsel bright, 

Whose fiery steeds ill brook'dthe stay 

Of the steep street and crowded way. 

But in the train you might discern 

Dark lowering brow and visage stern; 

There nobles mourn'd their pride restrain 'd,f 

* MS. : "King James and all his nobles went. 
Ever the King was bending low 
To his white jennet's saddle-bow, 
Doffing his cap to burgher dame, 
Who smiling blush'd for pride and shame/ ' 

f MS. : "Nobles who mourn'd their power restrain'd, 
And the poor burgher's joys disdain'd; 
Dark chief, who, for his clan, 
Was from his home a banish'd man, 
Who thought upon his own gray tower, 
The waving woods, his feudal bower, 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 203 

And the mean burgher's joys disdain'd; 
And chiefs, who, hostage for their clan, 
Were each from home a banish'd man, 
There thought upon their own gray tower, 
Their waving woods, their feudal power, 
And deem'd themselves a shameful part 
Of pageant which they cursed in heart. 

XXII. 

Now, in the Castle-park drew out 
Their checker'd bands the joyous rout. 
Their morricers, with bell at heel, 
And blade in hand, their mazes wheel; * 
But chief, beside the butts, there stand 
Bold Robin Hood f and all his band, — 
Friar Tuck with quarter staff and cowl, 

And deem'd himself a shameful part 
Of pageant that he cursed in heart. ' ' 
* MS. adds: 

"With awkward stride their city groom, 
Would part of fabled knight assume." 
t The exhibition of this renowned outlaw and his band 
was a favorite frolic at such festivals as we are describ- 
ing. This sporting, in which kings did not disdain to 
be actors, was prohibited in Scotland upon the Reforma- 
tion, by a statute of the sixth Parliament of Queen 
Mary, c. 61, A. D. 1555, which ordered, under heavy- 
penalties, that "na manner of person be chosen Robert 
Hude, nor little John, Abbot or Unreason, Queen of 
May, nor otherwise." But in 1 561, the "rascal multi- 
tude," says John Knox, "were stirred up to make a 
Robin Hude, whilk enormity was of many years left and 
damned by statute and act of Parliament ; yet could 
they not be forbidden. ' ' Accordingly they raised a very 
serious tumult, and at length made prisoners the magis- 
trates who endeavored to suppress it, and would not re- 
lease them till they extorted a formal promise that no 
one should be punished for his share of the disturb- 



204 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Old Scathelock with his surly scowl, 
Maid Marion, fair as ivory bone, 
Scarlet, and Mutch, and Little John; 
Their bugles challenge all that will, 
In archery to prove their skill. 
The Douglas bent a bow of might, — 
His first shaft centered in the white, 
And when in turn he shot again, 
His second split the first in twain. 
From the King's hand must Douglas take 
A silver dart, the archer's stake; 
Fondly he watched with watery eye,* 

ance. It would seem, from the complaints of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the Kirk, that these profane festivities 
were continued down to 1592. Bold Robin was, to say 
the least, equally successful in maintaining his ground 
against the reformed clergy of England ; for the simple 
and evangelical Latimer complains of coming to a 
country church, where the people refused to hear him, 
because it was Robin Hood's day; and his mitre and 
rochet were fain to give way to the village pastime. 
Much curious information on this subject may be found 
in the Preliminary Dissertation to the late Mr. Ritson's 
edition of the songs respecting this memorable outlaw. 
The game of Robin Hood was usually acted in May ; 
and he was associated with the morrice-dancers, on 
whom so much illustration has been bestowed by the 
commentators on Shakspeare. Avery lively picture of 
these festivities, containing a great deal of curious 
information on the subject of the private life and 
amusements of our ancestors, was thrown by the late 
ingenious Mr. Strutt, into his romance entitled Queen- 
hoo Hall, published after his death, in 1808. 
* MS. : " Fondly we watch' d with watery eye, 
For answering glance of sympathy, — 
But no emotion made reply ! 
Indifferent as to unknown ( wicht 
Cold as to unknown yeoman ( ® ■ 
The King gave forth the arrow bright.' ' 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 205 

Some answering glance of sympathy, — 
No kind emotion made reply! 
Indifferent as to archer wight, 
The monarch gave the arrow bright.* 

* The Douglas of the poem is an imaginary person, a 
supposed uncle of the Earl of Angus. But the king's 
behavior during an unexpected interview with the Laird 
of Kilspindie, one of the banished Douglasses, under 
circumstances similar to those in the text, is imitated 
from a real story told by Hume of Godscroft. I would 
have availed myself more fully of the simple and affect- 
ing circumstances of the old history, had they not been 
already woven into a pathetic ballad by my friend Mr. 
Finlay. 

"His (the king's) implacability (towards the family 
of Douglas) did also appear in his carriage towards 
Archibald of Kilspindie, whom he, when he was a child, 
loved singularly well for his ability of body, and was 
wont to call him his Grey-Steill. Archibald, being ban- 
ished into England, could not well comport with the 
humor of that nation, which he thought to be too proud, 
and that they had too high a conceit of themselves, 
joined with a contempt and despising of all others. 
Wherefore being wearied of that life, and remembering 
the king's favor of old towards him, he determined to 
try the king's mercifulness and clemency. So he comes 
into Scotland, and taking occasion of the king's hunting 
in the park of Stirling, he casts himself to be in his 
way, as he was coming home to the castle. So soon as 
the king saw him afar off, ere he came near, he guessed 
it was he, and said to one of his courtiers, Yonder is my 
Grey-Steill, Archibald of Kilspindie, if he be alive. 
The other answered that it could not be he, and that he 
durst not come into the king's presence. The king 
approaching, he fell upon his knees and craved pardon, 
and promised from thenceforward to abstain from med- 
dling in public affairs, and to lead a quiet and private 
life. The king went by without giving him any answer, 
and trotted a good round pace up the hill. Kilspindie 
followed, and, though he wore on him a secret, or shirt 
of mail, for his particular enemies, was as soon at the 



206 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXIII. 

Now, clear the ring! for, hand to hand, 
The manly wrestlers take their stand. 
Two o'er the rest superior rose, 
And proud demanded mightier foes, — 
Tor caird in vain; for Douglas came. — 
For life is Hugh of Larbert lame ; 
Scarce better John of Alloa's fare, 
Whom senseless home his comrades bare. 
Prize of the wrestling match, the King 



castle gate as the king. There sat him down upon a 
stone without, and entreated some of the king's servants 
for a cup of drink, being weary and thirsty ; but they, 
fearing the king's displeasure, durst give him none. 
When the king was set at his dinner, he asked what he 
had done, what he had said, and whither he had gone? 
It was told him that he had desired a cup of drink and 
had gotten none. The king reproved them very sharply 
for their discourtesy, and told them, that if he had not 
taken an oath that no Douglas should ever serve him, 
he would have received him into his service, for he 
had seen him sometime a man of great ability. Then 
he sent him word to go to Leith, and expect his further 
pleasure. Then some kinsman of David Falconer, the 
cannonier, that was slain at Tantallon, began to quarrel 
with Archibald about the matter, wherewith the king 
showed himself not well pleased when he heard of it. 
Then he commanded him to go to France for a certain 
space, till he heard further from him. And so he did, 
and died shortly after. This gave occasion to the King 
of England (Henry VIII. ) to blame his nephew, alleging 
the old saying, That a king's face should give grace. 
For this Archibald (whatsoever were Angus's or Sir 
George's fault) had not been principal actor for any- 
thing, nor no counsellor nor stirrer up but only a follow- 
er of his friends, and that noways cruelly disposed." — 
Hume of Godscroft, ii. 107. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 207 

To Douglas gave a golden ring,* 

While coldly glanced his eye of blue, 

As frozen drop of wintry dew. 

Douglas would speak, but in his breast 

His struggling soul his words suppress^; 

Indignant then he turn'd him where 

Their arms the brawny yeoman bare, 

To hurl the massive bar in air. 

When each his utmost strength had shown, 

The Douglas rent an earth-fast stone 

From its deep bed, then heaved it high, 

And sent the fragment through the sky 

A rood beyond the farthest mark ; 

And still in Stirling's royal park, 

The gray-hair'd sires, who know the past, 

To strangers point the Douglas cast, 

And moralize on the decay 

Of Scottish strength in modern day.f 

* The usual prize of a wrestling was a ram and a ring, 
but the animal would have embarrassed my story. 
Thus, in the "Cokes Tale of Gamelyn," ascribed to 
Chaucer : — 

"There happed to be there beside 
Tryed a wresting; 
And therefore there was y-setten 
A ram and als a ring." 

Again the "Litil Geste of Robin Hood": 

"By a bridge was a wrestling, 

And there taryed was he, 
And there was all the best yemen 

Of all the west countrey. 
A full fayre game there was set up, 

A white bull up y-pight, 
A great courser with saddle and brydle, 

With gold burnished full bryght; 
A payre of gloves, a red gold ringe, 

A pipe of wyne, good fay: 
What man bereth him best, I wis, 

The prize shall bear away." 

Ritson's Robin Hood, vol. i. 

t MS. : "Of mortal strength in modern day." 



208 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

XXIV. 

The vale with loud applauses rang 
The Ladies' Rock sent back the clang. 
The King, with look unmov'd, bestow'd 
A purse well fill'd with pieces broad.* 
Indignant smiled the Douglas proud, 
And threw the gold among the crowd, f 
Who now, with anxious wonder scan, 
And sharper glance the dark-gray man; 
Till whispers rose among the throng, 
That heart so free and hand so strong, 
Must to the Douglas blood belong. 
The old men mark'd, and shook the head, 
To see his hair with silver spread, 
And wink'd aside, and told each son, 
Of feats upon the English done, 
Ere Douglas of the stalwart handj 
Was exiled from his native land. 
The women prais'd his stately form, 
Though wreck'd by many a winter's storm ;§ 
The youth with awe and wonder saw 
His strength surpassing Nature's law. 
Thus judged, as is their wont, the crowd, 
Till murmur rose to clamors loud. 
But not a glance from that proud ring 
Of peers who circled round the King, 
With Douglas held communion kind, 
Or call'd the banish'd man to mind;ff 



* MS. 
t MS. 
X MS. 
§MS. 
tfMS. 



"A purse weigh'd down with pieces broad, 
"Scattered the gold among the crowd." 
"Ere James of Douglas* stalwart hand." 
"Though worn by many a winter storm." 
"Or called his stately form to mind." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 209 

No, not from those who, at the chase, 
Once held his side the honor'd place, 
Begirt his board, and in the field, 
Found safety underneath his shield ; 
For he, whom royal eyes disown, 
When was his form to courtiers known! 

xxv. 

The monarch saw the gambols flag, 
And bade let loose a gallant stag, 
Whose pride the holiday to crown, 
Two favorite greyhounds should pull down 
That venison free, and Bordeaux wine, 
Might serve the archery to dine. 
But Lufra, — whom from Douglas' side 
Nor bribe nor threat could ere divide, 
The fleetest hound in all the North, — 
Brave Lufra saw, and darted forth. 
She left the royal hounds mid- way, 
And dashing on the antler'd prey, 
Sunk her sharp muzzle in his flank, 
And deep the flowing life-blood drank. 
The King, stout huntsman saw the sport, 
By strange intruder broken short, 
Came up, and, with his leash unbound, 
In anger struck the noble hound. 
The Douglas had endured, that morn, 
The King's cold look, the nobles' scorn, 
And last, and worst to spirit proud, 
Had borne the pity of the crowd ; 
But Lufra had been fondly bred, 
To share his board, to watch his bed, 
And oft would Ellen, Lufra's neck 
In maiden glee with garlands deck ; 

14 



210 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

They were such playmates, that with name 
Of Lufra, Ellen's image came. 
His stifled wrath is brimming high, 
In darken'd brow and flashing eye; 
As waves before the bark divide, 
The crowd gave way before his stride ; 
Needs btit a buffet and no more, 
The groom lies senseless in his gore. 
Such blow no other hand could deal, 
Through gauntleted in glove of steel. 

i 

XXVI. 

Then clamor'd loud the royal train,* 

And brandish' d swords and staves amain 

But stern the Baron's warning: "Back!f 

Back, on your lives, ye menial pack! 

Beware the Douglas. — Yes! behold, 

King James! The Douglas, doom'd of old, 

And vainly sou'ght for near and far, 

A victim to atone the war, 

A willing victim, now attends, 

Nor craves thy grace but for his friends. ' ' — 

"Thus is my clemency repaid? 

Presumptious Lord!" the Monarch said; 

44 Of thy misproud, ambitious clan, 

Thou, James of Bothwell, wert the man, 

The only man, in whom a foe 

My woman-mercy would not know : 

But shall a Monarch's presence brookj 

* MS. * " Clamor'd his comrades of the train." 

t MS. : "But stern the warrior's warning— 'Back!' " 

J MS. : "But in my court, injurious blow, 

And bearded thus, and thus out-dared? 

What ho! the Captain of our guard !" 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 211 

Injurious blow, and haughty look? — 
What ho! The Captain of our Guard! 
Give the offender fitting ward. — 
Break off the sports!" — for tumult rose, 
And yeomen 'gan to bend their bows, — 
"Break off the sports," he said, and frown'd, 
"And bid our horsemen clear the ground." 

XXVII. 

Then uproar wild and misarray 

Marr'd the fair form of festal day. 

The horsemen prick'd among the crowd, 

Repell'd by threats and insult loud;* 

To earth are borne the old and weak, 

The timorous fly, the women shriek ; 

With flint, with shaft, with staff, with bar, 

The hardier urge tumultuous war. 

At once round Douglas darkly sweep 

The royal spears in circle deep, 

And slowly scale the pathway steep, 

While on the rear in thunder pour 

The rabble with disordered roar. 

With grief the noble Douglas saw 

The Commons rise against the law, 

And to the leading soldier said : 

"Sir John of Hyndford! 'twas my blade 

That knighthood on thy shoulder laid ; 

For that good deed, permit me then 

A word with these misguided men. 

XXVIII. 

"Hear, gentle friends! ere yet for me, 
Ye break the bands of fealty. 

* MS. : "Their threats repell'd by insult loud." 



212 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

My life, my honor, and my cause, 

I tender free to Scotland's laws. 

Are these so weak as must require 

The aid of your misguided ire? 

Or if I suffer causeless wrong, 

Is then my selfish rage so strong, 

My sense of public weal so low, 

That, for mean vengeance on a foe, 

Those cords of love I should unbind, 

Which knit my country and my kind? 

Oh no ! Believe in yonder tower 

It will not soothe my captive hour, 

To know those spears our foes should dread, 

For me in kindred gore are red : 

To know, in fruitless brawl begun 

For me, that mother wails her son, 

For me, that widow's mate expires, 

For me, that orphans weep their sires, 

That patriots mourn insulted laws, 

And curse the Douglas for the cause. 

O let your patience ward such ill, 

And keep your right to love me still!" 

XXIX. 

The crowd's wild fury sunk again* 
In tears, as tempests melt in rain. 
With lifted hands and eyes, they pray'd 
For blessings on his generous head, 
Who for his country felt alone, 
And prized her blood beyond his own. 
Old men, upon the verge of life, 

*MS. : "The crowd's wild fury ebb'd amain 
In tears, as tempests sink in rain." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 213 

Bless'd him who stayed the civil strife; 

And mothers held their babes on high, 

The self-devoted Chief to spy, 

Triumphant over wrongs and ire, 

To whom the prattlers owed a sire: 

Even the rough soldier's heart was moved: 

As if behind some bier beloved, 

With trailing arms and drooping head, 

The Douglas up the hill he led, 

And at the castle's battled verge, 

With sighs resigned his honor'd charge. 

XXX. 

The offended Monarch rode apart, 
With bitter thought and swelling heart, 
And would not now vouchsafe again 
Through Stirling streets to lead his train. 
"O Lennox, who would wish to rule 
This changeling crowd, this common fool? 
Hear'st thou, " he said, "the loud acclaim 
With which they shout the Douglas name? 
With like acclaim, the vulgar throat 
Strain'd for King James their morning note; 
With like acclaim they hail'd the day 
When first I broke the Douglas sway ; 
And like acclaim would Douglas greet, 
If he could hurl me from my seat. 
Who o'er the herd would wish to reign, 
Fantastic, fickle, fierce, and vain! 
Vain as the leaf upon the stream,* 
And fickle as a changeful dream ; 
Fantastic as a woman's mood, 

* MS. : "Vain as the sick man's idle dream." 



214 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And fierce as Frenzy's fever'd blood. 
Thou many-headed monster thing,* 

who would wish to be thy king? — 

XXXI. 

"But soft! what messenger of speed 
Spurs hitherward his panting steed? 

1 guess his cognizance afar — 

What from our cousin, John of Mar?" 

44 He prays, my liege, your sports keep bound 

Within the safe and guarded ground ; 

For some foul purpose yet unknown, — 

Most sure for evil to the throne, — 

The outlaw* d Chieftain, Roderick Dhu, 

Has summon'd his rebellious crew ; 

'Tis said, in James of Bothwell's aid 

These loose banditti stand array'd. 

The Earl of Mar, this morn, from Doune, 

To break their muster march'd, and soon 

Your grace will hear of battle fought ; 

But earnestly the Earl besought, 

Till for such danger he provide, 

With scanty train you will not ride."t 

* "Who deserves greatness, 

Deserves your hate ; and your affections are 
A sick man's appetite, who desires most that 
Which would increase his evil. He that 

depends 
Upon your favors, swims with fins of lead. 
And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye ! 

Trust ye? 
With every minute you do change a mind ; 
And call him noble, that was now your hate, 
Him vile that was your garland." 

Coriolanus, Act I. Scene I. 
f MS. : "On distant chase you will not ride." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 215 

XXXII. 

"Thou warn'st me I have done amiss, — 
I should have earlier looked to this; 
I lost it in this bustling day. — 
Retrace with speed thy former way; 
Spare not for spoiling of thy steed, 
The best of mine shall be thy meed. 
Say to our faithful Lord of Mar, 
We do forbid the intended war; 
Roderick, this morn, in single fight, 
Was made our prisoner by a knight ; 
And Douglas hath himself and cause 
Submitted to our kingdom's laws. 
The tidings of their leaders lost 
Will soon dissolve the mountain host, 
Nor would we that the vulgar feel, 
For their Chief's crimes avenging steel. 
Bear Mar our message, Braco, fly!" 
He turn'd his steed, — "My liege, I hie, — 
Yet, ere I cross this lily lawn, 
I fear the broadswords will be drawn. ' ' 
The turf the flying courser spurn'd, 
And to his towers the King return'd. 

XXXIII. 

Ill with King James's mood that day, 
Suited gay feast and minstrel lay; 
Soon were dismiss'd the courtly throng, 
And soon cut short the festal song. 
Nor less upon the sadden'd town 
The evening sunk in sorrow down. 
The burghers spoke of civil jar, 
Of rumor'd feuds and mountain war. 



216 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Of Moray, Mar, and Roderick Dhu, 

All up in arms; — the Douglas, too, 

They mourn'd him pent within the hold, 

44 Where stout Earl William was of old."— * 

And there his word the speaker staid, 

And finger on his lip he laid, 

Or pointed to his dagger blade. 

But jaded horsemen, from the west, 

At evening to the Castle press'd, 

And bus} 7 - talkers said they bore 

Tidings of fight on Katrine's shore; 

At noon the deadly fray begun, 

And lasted till the set of sun. 

Thus giddy rumor shook the town, 

Till closed the Night her pennons brown. 

* Stabbed by James II. in Stirling Castle. 



CANTO SIXTH. 

THE GUARD-ROOM. 
I. 

The sun, awakening, through the smoky air 

Of the dark city casts a sullen glance, 
Rousing each caitiff to his task of care, 

Of sinful man the sad inheritance; 
Summoning revellers from the lagging dance, 

Scaring the prowling robber to his den ; 
Gliding on battled tower the warder's lance, 

And warning student pale to leave his pen, 
And yield his drowsy eyes to the kind nurse 
of men. 

What various scenes, and O, what scenes of 
woe, 
Are witness 'd by that red and struggling 
beam! 
The fever'd patient, from his pallet low, 

Through crowded hospital behold its stream ; 
The ruin'd maiden trembles at its gleam, 

The debtor wakes to thought of gyve and jail, 

The love-lorn wretch starts from tormenting 

dream ; 

The wakeful mother, by the glimmering pale, 

Trims her sick infant's couch, and soothes his 

feeble wail. 

217 



218 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



II. 

At dawn the towers of Stirling rang 
With soldier-step and weapon-clang, 
"While drums, with rolling note, fortell 
Relief to weary sentinel. 
Through narrow loop and casement barr'd,* 
The sunbeams sought the Court of Guard, 
And, struggling with the smoky air, 
Deaden'd the torches' yellow glare. 
In comfortless alliance shonef 
The lights through arch of blacken' d stone, 
And show'd wild shapes in garb of war, 
Faces deformed with beard and scar, 
All haggard from the midnight watch, 
And fever'd with the stern debauch; 
For the oak table's massive board, 
Flooded with wine, with fragments stored, 
And beakers drain'd, and cups o'erthrown, 
Show'd in what sport the night had flown. 
Some, weary, snored on floor and bench ; 
Some labor'd still their thirst to quench ; 
Some, chill'd with watching, spread their hands 
O'er the huge chimney's dying brands, 
While round them, or beside them flung, 
At every step their harness rung. 

in. 

These drew not for their fields the sword, 
Like tenants of a feudal lord, 

*MS. : "Through blacken'd arch and casement 

barr'd." 
t MS. : "The lights in strange alliance shone 

Beneath the arch of blacken'd stone." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 219 

Nor own'd the patriarchal claim, 

Of Chieftain in their leader's name; 

Adventurers they, from far who roved, 

To live by battle which they loved.* 

There the Italian's clouded face, 

The swarthy Spaniard's there you trace; 

The mountain-loving Switzer there 

More freely breathe in mountain-air; 

The Fleming there despised the soil, 

That paid so ill the laborer's toil; 

Their rolls show'd French and German name; 

And merry England's exiles came, 

To share, with ill-conceal'd disdain, 

Of Scotland's pay the scanty gain. 

All brave in arms, well train 'd to wield 

The heavy halberd, brand, and shield; 

In camps licentious, wild, and bold ; 

In pillage fierce and uncontroll'd; 

And now, by holytide and feast, 

From rules of discipline released. 

IV. 

They held debate of bloody fray, 
Fought 'twixt Loch Katrine and Achray. 
Fierce was their speech, and, 'mid their words, 
Their hands oft grappled to their swords; 
Nor sunk their tone to spare the ear 
Of wounded comrades groaning near, 
Whose mangled limbs, and bodies gored, 
Bore token of the mountain sword, 
Though, neighboring to the Court of Guard, 
Their prayers and feverish wails were heard ; 

* See Appendix, Note P. 



220 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Sad burden to the ruffian joke, 

And savage oath by fury spoke ! — * 

At length up started John of Brent, 

A yeoman from the banks of Trent; 

A stranger to respect or fear, 

In peace a chaser of the deer, 

In host a hardy mutineer, 

But still the boldest of the crew 

When deed of danger was to do. 

He grieved, that day, their games cut short. 

And marr'd the dicer's brawling sport, 

And shouted loud, "Renew the bowl! 

And, while a merry catch I troll, 

Let each the buxom chorus bear, 

Like brethren of the brand and spear. " 



SOLDIER S SONG. 

Our vicar still preaches that Peter and Poule 
Laid a swinging long curse on the bonny brown 

bowl, 
That there's wrath and despair in the jolly 

black-jack, 
And the seven deadly sins in a flagon of sack ; 
Yet whoop, Barnaby! off with thy liquor, 
Drink upsees f out, and a fig for the vicar! 
Our vicar he calls it damnation to sip 
The ripe ruddy dew of a woman's dear lip, 
Says, that Beelzebub lurks in her kerchief so 

sly, 

* MS. : "Sad burden to the ruffian jest, 

And rude oaths vented by the rest." 
f Bacchanalian interjection, borrowed from the Dutch. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 221 

And Apollyon shoots darts from her merry 

black eye ; 
Yet whoop, Jack, kiss Gillian the quicker, 
Till she bloom like a rose, and a fig for the 

vicar! 

Our vicar thus preaches — and why should he 

not? 
For the dues of his cure are the placket and 

pot; 
And 'tis right of his office poor laymen to lurch, 
Who infringe the domains of our good Mother 

Church. 
Yet whoop, bully-boys ! off with your liquor, 
Sweet Majorie's the word, and a fig for the 

vicar !* 

VI. 

The warder's challenge, heard without, 
Staid in mid-roar the merry shout. 
A soldier to the portal went, — 
"Here is old Bertram, sirs, of Ghent; 
And, — beat for jubilee the drum! — 
A maid and minstrel with him come." 



*"The greatest blemish in the poem is the ribaldry 
and dull vulgarity which is put into the mouths of the 
soldiery in the guard-room. Mr. Scott has condescended 
to write a song for them, which will be read with pain, 
we are pursuaded, even by his warmest admirers ; and 
his whole genius, and even his power of versification, 
seems to desert him when he attempts to repeat their 
conversation. Here is some of the stuff which has 
dropped, in this inauspicious attempt, from the pen of 
one of the first poets of his age or country," etc, etc." 
—Jeffrey. 



222 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Bertram, a Fleming, gray and scarr'd, 

Was entering now the Court of Guard, 

A harper with him, and, in plaid 

All muffled close, a mountain maid, 

Who backward shrank to 'scape the view 

Of the loose scene and boisterous crew. 

"What news!" they roar' d: M I only know, 

From noon till eve we fought with foe, 

As wild and as untamable 

As the rude mountains where they dwell ; 

On both side store of blood is lost, 

Nor much success can either boast." — 

"But whence thy captives, friend? such spoil 

As theirs must needs reward thy toil.* 

Old dost thou wax, and wars grow sharp; 

Thou now hast glee-maiden and harp ! 

Get thee an ape, and trudge the land, 

The leader of a juggler band, "f 

*The MS. reads after this: 

"Get thee an ape, and then at once 
Thou may st renounce the warder's lance, 
And trudge through borough and through land, 
The leader of a juggler band." 

•(•The jongleurs, or jugglers/ as we learn from the 
elaborate work of the late Mr. Strutt, on the sports and 
pastimes of the people of England, used to call in the 
aid of various assistants, to render these performances 
as captivating as possible. The glee-maiden was a 
necessary attendant. Her duty was tumbling and 
dancing; and therefore the Anglo-Saxon version of St 
Mark's Gospel states Herodias to have vaulted or 
tumbled before King Herod. In Scotland, these poor 
creatures seem, even at a late period, to have been 
bondswomen to their masters, as appears from a case 
reported by Fountinhall : "Reid the mountebank pur- 
sues Scott of Harden and his lady, for stealing away 
from him a little girl, called the tumbling lassie, that 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 223 

VII. 

"No, comrade; — no such fortune mine. 
After the fight these sought our line, 
That aged harper and the girl, 
And, having audience of the Earl, 
Mar bade I should purvey them steed, 
And bring them hitherward with speed. 
Forbear your mirth and rude alarm, 
For none shall do them shame or harm. ' ' 



danced upon his stage ; and he claimed damages, and 
produced a contract, whereby he bought her from her 
mother for £30 Scots. But we have no slaves in Scot- 
land, and mothers cannot sell their bairns ; and physi- 
cians attested the employment of tumbling would kill 
her; and her joints were now grown stiff, and she 
declined to return ; though she was at least a 'prentice, 
and so could not run away from her master ; yet some 
cited Moses's law, that if a servant shelter himself with 
thee, against his master's cruelty, thou shalt surely not 
deliver him up. The Lords, renitente cancellario, 
assoilzied Harden, on the 27th of January (1687)." — 
Fountainhall's Decisions, vol. i. p. 439.* 

The facetious qualities of the ape soon rendered him 
an acceptable addition to the strolling band of the jong- 
leur. Ben Jonson, in his splenetic introduction to the 
comedy of "Bartholomew Fair," is at pains to inform 
the audience "that he has ne'er a sword-and-biickler 
man in his Fair, nor a juggler with a well-educated ape 
to come over the chaine for the King of England, and 
back again for the Prince, and sit still on his haunches 
for the Pope and the King of Spaine." 

♦Though less to my purpose, I cannot help noticing a cir- 
cumstance respecting another of this Mr.Reid's attendants,which 
occurred during James II. 's zeal for Catholic proselytism, and is 
told by Fountainhall,with dry Scotch irony: "January 17th, 1687.— 
Reid the mountebank is received into the Popish church, and one 
of his blackamores was persuaded to accept of baptism from 
the Popish priests, and to turn Christian papist; which was a 
great trophy: he was called James, after the king and chancel- 
lor, and the Apostle James."— Ibid. p. 440. 



224 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

"Hear ye his boast?" cried John of Brent 

Ever to strife and jangling bent; 

Shall he strike doe beside our lodge, 

And yet the jealous niggard grudge 

To pay the forester his fee? 

Ill have my share howe'er it be, 

Despite of Moray, Mar, or thee." 

Bertram this his forward step withstood ; * 

And, burning in his vengeful mood, 

Old Allan, though unfit for strife, 

Laid hand upon his dagger-knife ; 

But Ellen boldly stepp'd between, 

And dropp'd at once the tartan screen: — 

So from his morning cloud appears 

The sun of May, through summer tears. 

The savage soldiery, amazed, f 

As on descended angel gazed ; 

Even hardy Brent, abash' d and tamed, 

Stood half admiring, half ashamed. 

VIII. 

Boldly she spoke : "Soldiers, attend! 
My father was the soldier's friend, 
Cheer'd him in camps, in marches led, 
And with him in the battle bled. 
Not from the valiant, or the strong, 
Should exile's daughter suffer wrong. "J 
Answer'd De Brent, most forward still 
In every feat of good or ill : 

* MS. : "Bertram \ *"?, I violence withstood.' ' 



( his ) 
I such ) 



fMS. : "While the rude soldiery, amazed." 
t MS. : "Should Ellen Douglas suffer wrong." 




" Three times in closing strife they stood." — Page 193. 

The Lady of the Lake. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 225 

"I shame me of the part I play'd; 
And thou an outlaw's child, poor maid! 
An outlaw I by forest laws, 
And merry Needwood knows the cause. 
Poor Rose, — if Rose be living now," — * 
He wiped his iron eye and brow, — 
44 Must bear such age, I think, as thou. — 
Hear ye, my mates ! — I go to call 
The Captain of our watch to hall ; 
There lies my halberd on the floor; 
And he that steps my halberd o'er, 
To do the maid injurious part, 
My shaft shall quiver in his heart ! 
Beware loose speech, or jesting rough: 
Ye all know John de Brent. Enough. " 

IX. 

Their Captain came, a gallant young, — 
Of Tullibardine's house he sprung, — 
Nor wore he yet the spurs of knight ; 
Gay was his mien, his humor light, 
And, though by courtesy controll'd, 
Forward his speech his bearing bold. 
The high-born maiden ill could brook 
The scanning of his curious look 
And dauntless eye : — and yet, in sooth, 
Young Lewis was a generous youth; 
But Ellen's lovely face and mien, 
111 suited to the garb and scene, 
Might lightly bear construction strange, 
And give loose fancy scope to range. 

* MS. : " 'My Rose,' — he wiped his eye and brow, — 

'Poor Rose, — if Rose be living now.' " 
15 



226 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

"Welcome to Stirling towers, fair maid! 

Come ye to seek a champion's aid, 

On palfrey white, with harper hoar, 

Like errant damosel of yore? 

Does thy high quest a knight require, 

Or may the venture suit a squire?' ' — 

Her dark eye flash' d; — she paused and sigh'd: 

"Oh what have I to do with pride! — 

— Through scenes of sorrow, shame, and strife, 

A suppliant for a father's life, 

I crave an audience of the King, 

Behold to back my suit, a ring, 

The royal pledge of grateful claims, 

Given by the Monarch to Fitz- James. "* 

x. 

The signet-ring young Lewis took, 
With deep respect and altered look, 
And said: "This ring our duties own; 
And pardon, if to worth unknown, 
In semblance mean obscurely veil'd, 
Lady, in aught my folly fail'd. 
Soon as the day flings wide his gates, 
The King shall know what suitor waits. 
Please you, meanwhile, in fitting bower 
Repose you till his waking hour ; 
Female attendants shall obey 
Your hest, for service or array. 
Permit I marshal you the way." 
But, ere she follow 'd, with the grace 
And open bounty of her race, 
She bade her slender purse be shared 

* MS. : "The Monarch gave to James Fitz- James." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 22? 

Among the soldiers of the guard, 

The rest with thanks their guerdon took ; 

But Brent, with shy and awkward look, 

On the reluctant maiden's hold 

Forced bluntly back the proffer'd gold: — 

" Forgive a haughty English heart, 

And O, forget its ruder part ! 

The vacant purse shall be my share,* 

Which in my barret-cap I'll bear, 

Perchance, in jeopardy of war, 

Where gayer crests may keep afar." 

With thanks, — 'twas all she could, — the maid 

His rugged courtesy repaid. 

XI. 

When Ellen forth with Lewis went, 
Allan made suit to John of Brent: 
4 'My lady safe, O let your grace 
Give me to see my master's face! 
His minstrel I, — to share his doom 
Bound from the cradle to the tomb. 
Tenth in descent, since first my sires, 
Waked for his noble house their lyres, 
Nor one of all the race was known 
But prized its weal above their own. 
With the Chief's birth begins our care; 
Our harp must soothe the infant heir, 
Teach the youth tales of fight, and grace 
His earliest feat of field or chase ; 
In peace, in war, our rank we keep, 
We cheer his board, we soothe his sleep, 
Nor leave him till we pour our verse, — 

* MS. : "The silken purse shall serve for me. 
And in my barret-cap shall flee." 



228 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

A doleful tribute! — o'er his hearse. 
Then let me share his captive lot; 
It is my right — deny it not!" — 
4 'Little we reck," said John of Brent, 
"We Southern men, of long descent; 
Nor wot we how a name — a word — 
Makes clansmen vassals to a lord : 
Yet kind my noble landlord's part, — 
God bless the house of Beaudesert ! 
And, but I loved to drive the deer, 
More than to guide the laboring steer, 
I had not dwelt an outcast here. 
Come, good old Minstrel, follow me; 
Thy Lord and Chieftain shalt thou see. 



XII. 

Then from a rusted iron hook, 

A bunch of ponderous keys he took, 

Lighted a torch, and Allan led 

Through grated arch and passage dread. 

Portals they pass'd, where, deep within, 

Spoke prisoner's moan, and fetters' din; 

Through rugged vaults,* where, loosely stored, 

Lay wheel, and axe, and headsman's sword, 

And many a hideous engine grim, 

For wrenching joint, and crushing f limb, 

By artist formed, who deem'd it shame 

And sin to give their work a name. 

They halted at a low-brow'd porch, 

And Brent to Allan gave the torch, 

While bolt and chain he backward roll'd, 

~~*MS.: "Low broad vaults/' 
fMS.: "Streching." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 229 

And made the bar unhasp its hold. 

Theyenter'd: 'twas a prison room 

Of stern security and gloom, 

Yet not a dungeon; for the day 

Through lofty gratings found its way, 

And rude and antique garniture 

Deck'd the sad walls and oaken floor;* 

Such as the rugged days of old 

Deem'd fit for captive noble's hold. 

"Here," said De Brent, "thoumayest remainf 

Till the Leech visit him again. 

Strict is his charge the warders tell, 

To tend the noble prisoner well/' 

Retiring then, the bolt he drew, 

And the lock's murmurs growl 'd anew. 

Roused at the sound, from lowly bed 

A captive feebly raised his head ; 

The wondering Minstrel look'd, and knew — 

Not his dear lord, but Roderick Dhu! 

For, come from where Clan- Alpine fought, 

They, erring, deem'd the Chief he sought. 

XIII. 

As the tall ship, whose lofty prore 
Shall never stem the billows more, 
Deserted by her gallant band, 
Amid the breakers lies astrand, — 
So, on his couch, lay Roderick Dhu ! 
And oft his fever'd limbs he threw 



*MS.: "Flinty floor." 

t MS. : " — Thou mayst remain, 

And then, retiring, bolt and chain. 
And rusty bar, he drew again. 
Roused at the sound, ' ' etc. 



230 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

In toss abrupt, as when her sides 

Lie rocking in the advancing tides, 

That shake her frame with ceaseless beat, 

Yet cannot heave her from her seat; — 

O! how unlike her course at sea!* 

Or his free step on hill and lea ! — 

Soon as the Mnistrel he could scan, 

4 'What of thy lady? — of my clan? — 

My mother? — Douglas? — tell me all! 

Have they been ruin'd in my fall? 

Ah, yes ! or wherefore art thou here ! 

Yet speak, — speak boldly, — do not fear. " — 

(For Allan, who his mood well knew, 

Was choked with grief and terror, too. ) 

"Who fought — who fled? — Old man, be brief;- 

Some might — for they had lost their Chief. 

Who basely live? — who bravely died?" — 

"O, calm thee, Chief !"— the Minstrel cried, 

' ' Ellen is safe ; ' '— 4 ' For that, thank Heaven ! ' '- 

"And hopes are for the Douglas given; — 

The Lady Margaret, too, is well, 

And, for thy clan, — on field or fell, 

Has never harp of minstrel told,f 

Of combat fought so true and bold ; 

Thy stately Pine is yet unbent, 

Though many a goodly bough is rent. " 

XIV. 

The Chieftain rear'd his form on high, 
And fever's fire was in his eye; 

* MS. : "O ! how unlike her course on main; 

Or his free step on hill and plain!" 
f MS. : "Shall never harp of minstrel tell, 

Of combat fought so fierce and well." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 231 

But ghastly, pale, and livid streaks 

Checker'd his swarthy brow and cheeks. 

— "Hark, Minstrel! I have heard thee play, 

With measure bold, on festal day, 

In yon lone isle, . . . again where ne'er 

Shall harper play, or warrior hear! . . . 

That stirring air that peals on high, 

O'er Dermid's race our victory. — 

Strike it! * — and then, (for well thou canst,) 



* There are several instances, at least in tradition, of 
persons so much attached to particular tunes, as to re- 
quire to hear them on their death-bed. Such an anec- 
dote is mentioned by the late Mr. Riddel of Glenriddel, 
in his collection of Border tunes, respecting an air called 
the "Dandling of the Bairns," for which a certain Gal- 
lovidian laird is said to have evinced this strong mark of 
partialiity. It is popularly told of a famous freebooter, 
that he composed the tune known by the name of Mac- 
pherson's Rant, while under sentence of death, and 
played it at the gallows-tree. Some spirited words have 
been adapted to it by Burns. A similar story is recounted 
of a Welsh bard, who composed and played on his 
deathbed the air called Dafyddy Garregg Wen. But 
the most curious example is given by Bran tome, of a 
maid of honor at the court of France, entitled Mademoi- 
selle de Limeuil. "Durant sa maladie, dont elle tres- 
passa, jamais elle ne cessa, ainsi causa toujours; car 
elle estoit, fort grande parleuse, brocardeuse, et tres- 
bien et fort a propos, et tres-belle avec cela. Quand 
1'heure de sa fin fut venue, elle fit venir a soy son valet 
(ainsi que les filles de la cour en ont chacune un), qui 
s'appelloit Julien, et scavoit tres-bien jouer du violon. 
'Julien,' luy dit-elle, 'prenez vostre violon, et sonnez 
moy tousjours jusques a ce que me voyez morte (car je 
m'y en vais) la Defaite des Suisses, et le mieux que 
vous pourrez, et quand vous serez sur le mot, "Tout est 
perdu," sonnez le par quatre ou cinq fois le plus piteuse- 
ment que vous pourrez/ ce qui fit l'autre, et elle-mesme 
luy aidoit de la voix, et quand ce vint 'tout est perdu,' 



232 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Free from thy minstrel-spirit glanced, 

Fling me the picture of the fight, 

When met my clan the Saxon might. 

I'll listen till my fancy hears 

The clang of swords, the crash of spears ! 

These grates, these walls, shall vanish then, 

For the fair field of fighting men, 

And my free spirit burst away, 

As if it soar'd from battle fray." 

The trembling Bard with awe obey'd, — 

Slow on the harp his hand he laid; 

But soon remembrance of the sight 

He witness'd from the mountain's height, 

With what old Bertram told at night, * 

Awaken 'd the full power of song, 

And bore him in career along ; — 

As shallop launch'd on river's tide, 

That slow and fearful leaves the side, 

But when it feels the middle stream, 

Drives downward swift as lightning's beam. 



elle le reitera par deux fois; et se tournant de 1' autre 
coste de chevet, elle dit a ses compagnes: 'Tout est 
perdu a ce coup, et a bon escient;' et ainsi deceda. 
Voila une morte joyeuse et plaisante. Je tiens ce conte 
de deux de ses compagnes dignes de foi, qui virent 
jouer ce mystere. * ' — (Euvres de Brantome, iii. 507. The 
tune to which this fair lady chose to make her final exit 
was composed on the defeat of the Swiss at Marignano. 
The burden is quoted by Panurge, in Rabelais, and con- 
sists of these words, imitating the jargon of the Swiss, 
which is a mixture of French and German — 
"Tout est verlore 
Ta Tintelore, 
Tout est verlore, bi Got!" 

* The MS. has not this line. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 233 

xv. 

BATTLE OF SEAL' AN DUINE.* 

11 The Minstrel came once more to view 
The eastern ridge of Benvenue, 
For ere he parted he would say 
Farewell to lovely Loch Achray — 
Where shall he find in foreign land, 
So lone a lake, so sweet a strand! — 



* A skirmish actually took place at a pass thus called 
in the Trosachs, and closed with the remarkable inci- 
dent mentioned in the text. It was greatly posterior in 
date to the reign of James V. 

"In this roughly- wooded island, the country people 
secreted their wives and children, and their most valu- 
able effects from the rapacity of Cromwell's soldiers, 
during their inroad into this country, in the time of the 
republic. These invaders not venturing to ascend by the 
ladders, along the side of the lake, took a more circui- 
tous road through the heart of the Trosachs, the most 
frequented path at that time, which penetrates the wil- 
derness about half-way between Binean and the lake, 
by a tract called Yea-chilleach, or the Old Wife's Bog. 

"In one of the defiles of this by-road, the men of the 
country at that time hung upon the rear of the invading 
enemy, and shot one of Cromwell's men, who grave 
marks the scene of action, and gives name to that pass. 
In revenge of this insult, the soldiers resolved to plun- 
der the island, to violate the women, and put the chil- 
dren to death. With this brutal intention, one of the 
party, more expert than the rest, swam towards the 
island, to fetch the boat to his comrades, which had car- 
ried the women to their asylum, and lay moored in one 
of the creeks. His companions stood on the shore of 
the mainland, in full view of all that was to pass, wait- 
ing anxiously for his return with the boat. But just as 
the swimmer had got to the nearest point of the island, 
and was laying hold of a black rock, to get on shore, a 
heroine, who stood on the very point where he meant to 



234 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

There is no breeze upon the fern, 

No ripple on the lake, 
Upon her eyry nods the erne, 

The deer has sought the brake ; 
The small birds will not sing aloud 

The springing trout lies still, 
So darkly glooms yon thunder-cloud, 
That swathes, as with a purple shroud 

Benledi's distant hill. 
Is it the thunder's solemn sound 

That mutters deep and dread, 
Or echoes from the groaning ground 

The warrior's measured tread? 
Is it the lightning's quivering glance 

That on the thicket streams, 
Or do they flash on spear and lance 

The sun's retiring beams? — 
I see the dagger-crest of Mar, 
I see the Moray's silver star, 
Wave o'er the cloud of Saxon war 
That up the lake comes winding far! 
To hero boune for battle-strife, 

Or bard of martial lay, 
'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life, 
One glance at their array. 



land, hastily snatching a dagger from below her apron, 
with one stroke severed his head from the body. His 
party seeing this disaster, and relinquishing all future 
hope of revenge or conquest, made the best of their way 
out of their perilous situation. This amazon's great- 
grandson lives at the Bridge of Turk, who besides 
others, attests the anecdote." — Sketch of the Scenery 
near Callander. Stirling, 1806, p. 20. I have only to 
add to this account, that the heroine's name was Helen 
Stuart. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 235 

XVI. 

44 Their light-arm 'd archers far and near 

Survey 'd the tangled ground, 
Their centre ranks, with pike and spear, 

A twilight forest frown' d. 
Their barded horsemen, in the rear, 

The stern battalia crown' d. 
No cymbal clash'd, no clarion rang, 

Still were the pipe and dram ; 
Save heavy tread, and armor's clang, 

The sullen march was dumb. 
There breathed no wind their crests to shake 

Or wave their flags abroad; 
Scarce the frail aspen seem'd to quake, 

That shadow'd o'er their road. 
Their vaward scouts no tidings bring, 

Can rouse no lurking foe, 
Nor spy a trace of living thing 

Save when they stirr'd the roe; 
The host moves, like a deep-sea wave, 
Where rise no rocks its pride to brave, 

High-swelling, dark, and slow. 
The lake is pass'd, and now they gain 
A narrow and a broken plain, 
Before the Trosachs' rugged jaws: 
And here the horse and spearmen pause, 
While, to explore the dangerous glen, 
Dive through the pass the archer-men. 

XVII. 

44 At once there rose so wild a yell 
Within that dark and narrow dell, 
As all the fiends from heaven that fell, 



236 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Had peal'd the banner-cry of hell! 
Forth from the pass in tumult driven, 
Like chaff before the wind of heaven, 

The archery appear; 
For life! for life! their flight they ply — 
And shriek, and shout, and battle-cry, 
And plaids and bonnets waving high, 
And broadswords flashing to the sky, 

Are maddening in the rear. 
Onward they drive in dreadful race, 

Pursuers and pursued ; 
Before that tide of flight and chase, 
How shall it keep its rooted place, 

The spearmen's twilight wood? — 
"Down, down/ cried Mar, 'your lances down! 

Bear back both friend and foe!' 
Like reeds before the tempest's frown,. 
That serried grove of lances brown 

At once lay levell'd low; 
And closely shouldering side to side, 
The bristling ranks the onset bide. — * 
* We'll quell the savage mountaineer, 

As their Tinchel f cows the game! 
They come as fleet as forest deer, 

We'll drive them back as tame.' 

XVIII. 

"Bearing before them, in their course, 
The relics of the archer force, 



* The MS. has not this couplet. 

f A circle of sportsmen, who, by surrounding a great 
space and gradually narrowing, brought immense quanti- 
ties of deer together, which usually made desperate 
efforts to break through the Tinchel. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 237 

Like wave with crest of sparkling foam, 
Right onward did Clan-Alpine come. 
Above the tide each broadsword bright 
Was brandishing like beam of light, 

Each targe was dark below ; 
And with the ocean's mighty swing, 
When heaving to the tempest's wing, 
They hurl'd them on the foe. 
I heard the lance's shivering crash, 
As when the whirlwind rends the ash; 
I heard the broadsword's deadly clang, 
As if a hundred anvils rang ! 
But Moray wheel'd his rearward rank 
Of horsemen on Clan-Alpine's flank,— 
'My banner-man, advance! 
I see,' he cried, 'their column shake. 
Now, gallants! for your ladies' sake, 

Upon them with the lance!' — 
The horsemen dashed among the rout, 

As deer break through the broom ; 
Their steeds are stout, their swords are out, 

They soon make lightsome room. 
Clan- Alpine's best are backward borne — 

Where, where was Roderick then ! 
One blast upon his bugle-horn 
Were worth a thousand men. 
And refluent through the pass of fear * 

The battle's tide was pour'd; 
Vanish'd the Saxon's struggling spear, 



MS. : ' 'And refluent down the darksome pass 
The battle's tide was pour'd ; 
There toiled the spearman's struggling 
spear, 
There raged the mountain sword." 



238 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Vanish'd the mountain-sword. 
As Bracklinn's chasm, so black and steep, 

Receives her roaring linn, 
As the dark caverns of the deep 
Suck the wild whirlpool in, 
So did the deep and darksome pass 
Devour the battle's mingled mass: 
None linger now upon the plain, 
Save those who ne'er shall fight again. 

XIX. 

"Now restward rolls the battle's din, 
That deep and doubling pass within. — 
Minstrel, away ! the work of fate * 
Is bearing on ; its issue wait, 
Where the rude Trosachs' dread defile 
Opens on Katrine's lake and isle. 
Gray Benvenue I soon repass'd, 
Loch Katrine lay beneath me cast. 

The sun is set; — the clouds are met, 
The lowering scowl of heaven 

An inky hue of vivid blue 
To the deep lake has given ; 
Strange gusts of wind from mountain glen 
Swept o'er the lake, then sunk again. 
I heeded not the eddying surge, 
Mine eye but saw the Trosachs' gorge, 
Mine ear but heard the sullen sound, 
Which like an earthquake shook the ground, 
And spoke the stern and desperate strife 



MS.: "Away! away! the work of fate!" 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 239 

That parts not but with parting life,* 

Seeming, to minstrel ear, to toll f 

The dirge of many a passing soul. 
Nearer it comes — the dim- wood glen 
The martial flood disgorged again, 

But not in mingled tide; 
The plaided warriors of the North 
High on the mountain thunder forth 
And overhang its side, 

While by the lake below appears 

The darkening cloud of Saxon spears. J 

At weary day each shatter'd band, 

Eyeing their f oemen, sternly stand ; 

Their banners stream like tatter'd sail, 

That flings its fragments to the gale, 

And broken arms and disarray 

Mark'd the fell havoc of the day. 

xx. 

" Viewing the mountain's ridge askance, 
The Saxons stood in sullen trance, 
Till Moray pointed with his lance, 

And cried — ' Behold, yon isle ! 
See ! none are left to guard its strand, 
But women weak, that wring the hand! 
'Tis there of yore the robber band 

Their booty wont to pile ; — 



* — "the loveliness in death 

That parts not quite with parting breath." 

Byron's Giaour. 
f MS. : "And seem'd to minstrel ear to toll 
The parting dirge of many a soul." 

X MS. : "While by the darkened lake below. 
File out the spearmen of the foe." 



240 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

My purse, with bonnet-pieces store, 
To him will swim a bow-shot o'er, 
And loose a shallop from the shore. 
Lightly well tame the war- wolf then, 
Lords of his mate, and brood, and den. ' 
Forth from the ranks a spearman sprung, 
On earth his casque and corslet rung, 

He plunged him in the wave : — 
All saw the deed, — the purpose knew, 
And to their clamors Benvenue 

A mingled echo gave ; 
The Saxons shout, their mate to cheer, 
The helpless females scream for fear, 
And yells for rage the mountaineer. 
'Twas then, as by the outcry riven, 
Pour'd down at once the lowering heaven : 
A whirlwind swept Loch Katrine's breast, 
Her billows rear'd their snowy crest. 
Well for the swimmer sweird they high, 
To mar the Highland marksman's eye; 
For round him shower' d, 'mid rain and hail 
The vengeful arrows of the Gael. 
In vain. — He nears the isle — and lo! 
His hand is on a shallop's bow. 
Just then a flash of lightning came ; 
It tinged the waves and strand with flame ; * 
I mark'd Duncraggan's widow'd dame, 
Behind an oak I saw her stand, 
A naked dirk gleam'd in her hand: — 
It darken'd, — but amid the moan 
Of waves I heard a dying groan ; — 

* MS. reads: "It tinged the boats and lake with 
flame." The eight closing lines of the stanza are inter- 
polated on a slip of paper. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 241 

Another flash ! — the spearman floats 
A weltering corse beside the boats, 
And the stern Matron o'er him stood, 
Her hand and dagger streaming blood. 

XXI. 

" * Revenge! revenge!' the Saxons cried, 
The Gaels' exulting shout replied. 
Despite the elemental rage, 
Again they hurried to engage ; 
But, ere they closed in desperate fight, 
Bloody with spurring came a knight, 
Sprung from his horse, and from a crag 
Waved 'twixt the hosts a milk-white flag- 
Clarion and trumpet by his side 
Rung forth a truce-note high and wide,. 
While, in the Monarch's name, afar 
A herald's voice forbade the war, 
For Bothwell's lord, and Roderick bold, 
Were both, he said, in captive hold. ' ' — 
But here the lay made sudden stand, 
The harp escaped the Minstrel's hand! 
Oft had he stolen a glance, to spy 
How Roderick brook'd his minstrelsy: 
At first, the Chieftain, to the chime, 
With lifted hand kept feeble time ; 
That motion ceased, — yet feeling strong 
Varied his look as changed the sound; * 
At length, no more his deafen 'd ear 
The minstrel melody can hear; 
His face grows sharp, — his hands are clench'd, 
As if some pang his heart-strings wrench'd; 



* MS. : "Glowed in his look, as swell'd the song." 
16 



242 THE LADY OF THE LARK. 

Set are his teeth, his faded eye * 

I sat sternly fixed on vacancy ; 

Thus, motionless, and moanless, drew 

His parting breath, stout Roderick Dhu! — f 

Old Allan-Bane look'd on aghast, 

While grim and still his spirit pass'd; 

Rut when he saw that life was fled, 

He pour'd his wailing o'er the dead. 

XXII. 
LAMENT. 

M And art thou cold and lowly laid, J 
Thy foeman's dread, thy people's aid, 
Breadalbane's boast, Clan-Alpine's shade 
For thee shall none a requiem say 
For thee, who loved the minstrel's l.v 
For thee, of Bothwell's house the stay, 



MS,—-h 1S S-£fs| eye . 



f "Rob Roy, while on his deathbed, learned that a 
person, with whom he was at enmity, proposed to visit 
him. 'Raise me from my bed/ said the invalid; 'throw 
my plaid around me, and bring me my claymore, dirk 
and pistols — it shall never be said that a foeman s 
Rob Roy Macgregor defenceless and unarmed.' His 
foeman, conjectured to be one of the MacLarer^ 
and after mentioned, entered and paid his compli- 
ments, inquiring after the health of his formidable 
neighbor. Rob Roy maintained a cold, haughty civility 
during their short conference; and as soon as he had 
left the house, 'Now,' he said, 'all is over — let the piper 
play, Ha til mi tulidk' [we return no more]; and he is 
said to have expired before the dirge was finished.*' — 
Introduction to Rob Roy, Waverley Novels, vol. vii. 
P- 85. 

X MS. : M 'Art thou gone,' the minstrel said. " 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. MS 

The shelter of her exiled line,* 
E'en in this prison-house of thine, 
I'll wail for Alpine's honor'd Pine. 

"What groans Shall yonder valleys fill ! 

What shrieks of grief shall rend yon hill! 

What tears of burning rage shall thrill, 

When mourns thy tribe thy battles done, 
Thy fall before the race was won, 
Thy sword ungirt ere set of sun! 
There breathes not clansman of thy line, 
But would have given his life for thine. 
O, woe for Alpine's honor'd Pine! 

"Sad was thy lot on mortal stage! — 
The captive thrush may brook the cage, 
The prison 'd eagle dies for rage. 
Brave spirit, do not scorn my strain! 
And, when its notes awake again, 
Even she, so long beloved in vain, 
vShall with my harp her voice combine, 
And mix her woe and tears with mine, 
To wail Clan-Alpine's honor'd Pine." 

XXIII. 

Ellen, the while, with bursting heart, 
Rcmain'd in lordly bower apart, 
Where play'd, with many-color'd gleams, 
Through storied pane the rising beams. 
In vain on gilded roof they fall, 
And lightened up a tapestried wall, 
And for her use a menial train 

* MS. : "The mightiest of a mighty line." 



244 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

A rich collation spread in vain. 

The banquet proud, the chamber gay,* 

Scarce drew one curious glance astray , 

Or if she look'd, 'twas but to say, 

With better omen dawn'd the day 

In that lone isle, where waved on high 

The dun-deer's hide for canopy; 

Where oft her noble fathers shared 

The simple meal her care prepared, 

While Lufra, crouching by her side, 

Her station claim'd with jealous pride, 

And Douglas, bent on woodland game,f 

Spoke of the chase to Malcolm Graeme, 

Whose answer oft at random made, 

The wandering of his thoughts betrayed. 

Those who such simple joys have known, 

Are taught to prize them when they're gone, 

But sudden, see, she lifts her head, 

The window seeks with cautious tread. 

What distant music has the power 

To win her in this wof ul hour ! 

'Twas from a turret that o'erhung 

Her latticed bower, the strain was sung. 

XXIV. 
LAY OF THE IMPRISONED HUNTSMAN. 

%i My hawk is tired of perch and hood, 
My idle greyhound loathes his food, 
My horse is weary of his stall, 
And I am sick of captive thrall. 



* MS.: "The banquet gay, the chamber's pride, 
Scarce drew one curious glance aside. 

f MS. : "Earnest on his game." 



4 i 



I i 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 245 

I wish I were as I have been, 
Hunting the hart in forest green, 
With bended bow and bloodhound free, 
For that's the life is meet for me.* 

I hate to learn the ebb of time, 

From yon dull f steeple's drowsy chime, 

Or mark it as the sunbeams crawl, 

Inch after inch, along the wall. 

The lark was wont my matins ring, J 

The sable rook my vespers sing ; 

These towers, although a king's they be, 

Have not a hall § of joy for me. 

No more at dawning morn I rise, 
And sun myself in Ellen's eyes, 
Drive the fleet deer the forest through, 
And homeward wend with evening dew; 
A blithesome welcome blithely meet, 
And lay my trophies at her feet 
While fled the eve on wing of glee, — 
That life is lost to love and me!" 

xxv. 

That heart-sick lay was hardly said, 
The list'ner had not turn'd her head, 
It trickled still, the starting tear, 
When light a footstep struck her ear, 
And Snowdoun's graceful knight was near. 
She turn'd the hastier, lest again 
The prisoner should renew his strain. 



*MS. 
|MS. 
J MS. 



-was meant for me. 



"From darken'd steeple's." 
"The lively lark my matins rung, 
The sable rook my vespers sung." 
§ MS. : "Have not a hall should harbor me." 



246 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

"O welcome, brave Fitz- James!" she said, 

4 'How may an almost orphan maid 

Pay the deep debt — M "O say not so! 

To me no gratitude you owe, 

Not mine, alas! the boon to give, 

And bid thy noble father live ; 

I can but be thy guide, sweet maid, 

With Scotland's King thy suit to aid. 

No tyrant he, though ire and pride 

May lay his better mood aside. 

Come, Ellen, come! 'tis more than time, 

He holds his court at morning prime. " 

With beating heart, and bosom wrung, 

As to a brother's arm she clung. 

Gently he dried the falling tear, 

And gently whisper 'd hope and cheer; 

Her faltering steps half-led, half-stay'd 

Through gallery fair and high arcade, 

Till at his touch its wings of pride 

A portal arch unfolded wide. 

XXVI. 

Within 'twas brilliant all and light,* 
A thronging scene of figures bright; 
It glow'd on Ellen's dazzled sight, 
As when the setting sun has given 
Ten thousand hues to summer even, 
And from their tissue, fancy frames 
Aerial inights and fairy dames. 
Still by Fitz- James her footing staid ; 
A few faint steps she forward made, 

* MS. : "Within 'twas brilliant all, and bright 
The vision glow'd on Ellen's sight." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 247 

Then slow her drooping head she raised, 

And fearful round the presence gazed ; 

For him she sought, who own'd this state,* 

The dreaded prince whose will was fate! — 

She gazed on many a princely port, 

Might well have ruled a royal court ; 

On many a splendid garb she gazed, — 

Then turn'd bewilder'd and amazed, 

For all stood bare ; and in the room 

Fitz-James alone wore cap and plume. 

To him each lady's look was lent, 

On him each courtier's eye was bent; 

'Midst furs and silks and jewels sheen, 

He stood, in simple Lincoln green, 

The centre of the glittering ring, — 

And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King!f 

XXVII. 

As wreath of snow on mountain-breast 

Slides from the rock that gave it rest, 

Poor Ellen glided from her stay, J 

And at the Monarch's feet she lay; 

No word her choking voice commands — 

She show'd the ring, — she clasp'd her hands. 

O ! not a moment could he brook, 

The generous Prince, that suppliant look! 

Gently he raised her, — and, the while, 

Check'd with a glance the circle's smile; 

Graceful, but grave, her brow he kiss'd, 

And bade her terrors be dismiss'd: — 



* MS. : "For him who own'd this royal state." 

f See Appendix, Note Q. 

t MS. : — "shrinking quits her stay." 



248 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

"Yes, fair; the wandering poor Fit z- James 

The fealty of Scotland claims. 

To him thy woes, thy wishes, bring; 

He will redeem his signet-ring. 

Ask naught for Douglas ; — yester even, 

His prince and he have much forgiven : 

Wrong hath he had from slanderous tongue, 

I, from his rebel kinsmen wrong. 

We would not to the vulgar crowd 

Yield what they craved with clamor loud ; 

Calmly we heard and judged his cause, 

Our council aided and our laws. 

I stanch'd thy father's death-feud stern 

With stout De Vaux and gray Glencairn ; 

And Bothwell's Lord henceforth we own 

The friend and bulwark of our Throne. — 

But, lovely infidel, how now? 

What clouds thy misbelieving brow? 

Lord James of Douglas, lend thine aid; 

Thou must confirm this doubting maid. ' ' 

XXVIII. 

Then forth the noble Douglas sprung, 
And on his neck his daughter hung. 
The monarch drank, that happy hour, 
The sweetest, holiest draught of Power, — 
When it can say, with godlike voice, 
Arise, sad Virtue, and rejoice! 
Yet would not James the general eye 
On Nature's raptures long should pry; 
He stepp'd between — "Nay, Douglas, nay, 
Steal not my proselyte away ! 
The riddle 'tis my right to read, 
That brought this happy chance to speed. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 249 

Yes, Ellen, when, disguised, I stray- 
In life's more low but happier way.* 
'Tis under name which veils my power, 
Nor falsely veils — for Stirling's tower 
Of yore the name of Snowdoun claims, f 
And Normans call me James Fitz-James. 
Thus watch I o'er insulted laws, 
Thus learn to right the injured cause." 



* MS. : "In lowly life's more happy way." 

f William of Worcester, who wrote about the middle 

of the fifteenth century, calls Stirling Castle Snowdoun. 

Sir David Lindsay bestows the same epithet upon it in 

his complaint of the Papingo : 

"Adieu, fair Snowdoun, with thy towers high, 
Thy chapele-royal, park, and table round ; 
May, June, and July, would I dwell in thee, 
Were I a man, to hear the birdis sound 
Whilk doth againe thy royal rock rebound." 

Mr. Chalmers, in his late excellent edition of Sir David 
Lindsay's works, has refuted the chimerical derivation 
of Snawdoun from sneddling, or cutting. It was prob- 
ably derived from the romantic legend which connected 
Stirling with King Arthur, to which the mention of the 
Round Table gives countenance. The ring within 
which jousts were formerly practiced, in the castle 
park, is still called the Round Table. Snawdoun is the 
official title of one of the Scottish heralds, whose epi- 
thets, seem in all countries to have been fantastically 
adopted from ancient history or romance. 

It appears (see Appendix, Note Q) that the real name 
by which James was actually distinguished in his pri- 
vate excursions, was the Goodman of Ballenguich: 
derived from a steep pass leading up to the Castle of 
Stirling, so called. But the epithet would not have 
suited poetry, and would, besides, at once and prema- 
turely, have announced the plot to many of my country- 
men, among whom the traditional stories above men- 
tioned are still current. 



250 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Then, in a tone apart and low, — 

"Ah, little traitress! none must know 

What idle dream, what lighter thought, 

What vanity full dearly bought, 

Join'd to thine eye's dark witchcraft, drew 

My spell-bound steps to Benvenue* 

In dangerous hour, and almost gave 

Thy Monarch's life to mountain glaive I" — 

Aloud he spoke: "Thou still dost hold 

That little talisman of gold, 

Pledge of my faith, Fits-James's ring, — "f 

What seeks fair Ellen of the king?" 

XXIX. 

Full well the conscious maiden guess'd 
He probed the weakness of her breast; 
But, with that consciousness, there came 
A lightening of her fears for Graeme, 
And X tnore she deem'd the monarch's ire 
Kindled 'gainst him, who, for her sire 
Rebellious broadsword boldly drew ; 
And, to her generous feeling true, 
She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu. — 
* ' Forbear thy suit : — the King of kings 
Alone can stay life's parting wings. 

* MS. : -Thy sovereign back ) Benvenue „ 

Thy sovereign's steps \ to ^ envenue - 
t MS. : "Pledge of Fitz-James's faith, the ring." 
X MS. : "And in her breast strove maiden shame; 
More deep she deem'd the Monarch's ire 
Kindled 'gainst him, who, for her sire. 
Against his sovereign broadsword drew ; 
And, with a pleading, warm and true, 
She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 251 

I know his heart, I know his hand, 
Have shared his cheer and proved his brand; — 
My fairest earldom would I give- 
To bid Clan- Alpine's Chieftain live! — 
Hast thou no other boon to crave? 
No other captive friend to save?" 
Blushing, she turn'd her from the King, 
And to the Douglas gave the ring, 
As if she wish'd her sire to speak 
The suit that stain'd her glowing cheek. 
"Nay, then, my pledge has lost its force, 
And stubborn justice holds her course. 
Malcolm, come forth!" — and, at the word, 
Down kneel'd the Graeme * to Scotland's Lord. 
"For thee, rash youth, no suppliant sues, 
From thee may Vengeance claim her dues 
Who, nurtured underneath our smile, 
Hast paid our care by treacherous wile, 
And sought, amid thy faithful clan, 
A refuge for an outlaw'd man, 
Dishonoring thus thy loyal name — 
Fetters and warder for the Graeme!" 



* "Malcolm Graeme has too insignificant a part as- 
signed him, considering the favor in which he is held 
both by Ellen, and the author; and in bringing out the 
shaded and imperfect character of Roderick Dhu, as a 
contrast to the purer virtue of his rival, Mr. Scott seems 
to have fallen into the common error of making him 
more interesting than him whose virtues he was in- 
tended to set off, and converted the villain of the piece 
in some measure into its hero. A modern poet, how- 
ever, may perhaps be pardoned for an error, of which 
Milton himself is thought not to have kept clear, and for 
which there seems so natural a cause in the difference 
between poetical and amiable characters." — Jeffrey. 



252 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

His chain of gold the King unstrung, 
The links o'er Malcolm's neck he flung, 
Then gently drew the glittering band, 
And laid the clasp on Ellen's hand.* 

Harp of the North, farewell! The hills grow 
dark, 
On purple peak a deeper shade descending; 
In twilight copse the glow-worm lights her 
spark, 
The deer, half-seen, are to the covert 
wending, 
Resume thy wizard elm ! the fountain lending, 
And the wild breeze, thy wilder minstrelsy; 
Thy numbers sweet with nature's vespers 
blending, 
With distant echo from the fold and lea, 
And herd-boy's evening pipe, and hum of 
housing bee. 

* . . . "And now, waving myself, let me talk to you 
of the Prince Regent. He ordered me to be presented 
to him at a ball; and after some sayings peculiarly 
pleasing from royal lips, as to my own attempts, lie 
talked to me of you and your immortalities ; he pre- 
ferred you to every bard past and present, and asked 
which of your works pleased me most. It was a diffi- 
cult question. I answered, I thought the 'Lay.' He 
said his own opinion was nearly similar. In speaking 
of the others, I told him that I thought you more par- 
ticularly the poet of Princes, as they never appeared 
more fascinating than in 'Marmion,' and the 'Lady of 
the Lake.' He was pleased to coincide, and to dwell 
on the description of your James's as no less royal than 
poetical. He spoke alternately of Homer and yourself, 
and seemed well acquainted with both." etc. — Letter 
from Lord Byron to Sir Walter Scott, July 6, 1812. 
Byron's Life and Works, vol. ii. p. 156. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 253 

Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel Harp! 

Yet, once again, forgive my feeble sway 
And little reck I of the censure sharp 

May idly cavil at an idle lay. 
Much have I owed thy strains on life's long 
way, 
Through secret woes the world has never 
known, 
When on the weary night dawn'd wearier day, 
And bitterer was the grief devour'd alone. — 
That I o'erlive such woes, Enchantress! is 
thine own. 

Hark! as my lingering footsteps slow retire, 

Some Spirit of the Air has waked thy string ! 
'Tis now a seraph bold, with touch of fire, 

'Tis now the brush of Fairy's frolic wing, 
Receding now, the dying numbers ring 

Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell, 
And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring 

A wandering witch-note of the distant spell — 
And now, 'tis silent all! — Enchantress, fare 
thee well ! * 

* On a comparison of the merits of this poem with 
the two former productions of the same unquestioned 
genius, we are inclined to bestow on it a very decided 
preference over both. It would perhaps be difficult to 
select any one passage of such genuine inspiration, as 
one or two that might be pointed out in the Lay of the 
Last Minstrel, — and, perhaps, in strength and discrimi- 
nation of character, it may fall short of Marmion; 
although we are loath to resign either the rude and sav- 
age generosity of Roderick, the romantic chivalry of 
James, or the playful simplicity, the affectionate tender- 
ness, the modest courage of Helen Douglas, to the claims 
of any competitors in the last-mentioned poem. But, 



254 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

for interest and artificial management in the story, for 
general ease and grace of versification, and correctness 
of language, the Lady of the Lake must be universally 
allowed, we think to excel, and very far excel, either of 
her predecessors." — Critical Review. 

* 'There is nothing in Mr. Scott of the severe and 
majestic style of Milton, or of the terse and fine compo- 
sition of Pope, or of the elaborate elegance and melody 
of Campbell, or even of the flowing and redundant diction 
of Southey ; but there is a medley of bright images and 
glowing, set carelessly and loosely together, — a diction 
tinged successively with the careless richness of Shaks- 
peare, the harshness and antique simplicity of the old 
romances, the homeliness of vulgar ballads and anec- 
dotes, and the sentimental glitter of the most modern 
poetry; passing from the borders of the ludicrous to 
those of the sublime ; alternately minute and energetic ; 
sometimes artificial, and frequently negligent, but 
always full of spirit and vivacity ; abounding in images 
that are striking at first sight to minds of every context- 
ure, and never expressing a sentiment which it can cost 
the most ordinary reader any exertion to comprehend. 
Upon the whole, we are inclined to think more highly 
of the 'Lady of the Lake* than of either of its author's 
former publications. We are more sure, however, that 
it has fewer faults than that it has greater beauties ; 
and as its beauties bear a strong resemblance to those 
with which the public has been already made familiar 
in these celebrated works, we should not be surprised 
if its popularity were less splendid and remarkable. 
For our own part, however, we are of opinion, that it 
will be oftener read hereafter than either of them, and 
that if it had appeared first in the series, their reception 
would have been less favorable than that which it has 
experienced. It is more polished in its diction, and 
more regular in its versification ; the story is constructed 
with infinitely more skill and address ; there is a greater 
proportion of pleasing and tender passages, with much 
less antiquarian detail, and, upon the whole, a larger 
variety of characters, more artfully and judiciously con- 
trasted. There is nothing so fine, perhaps, as the battle 
in 'Marmion,* or so picturesque as some of the scattered 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 255 

sketches in the 'Lay* J but there is a richness and a spirit 
in the whole piece which does not pervade either of 
these poems, a profusion of incident and a shifting bril- 
liancy of coloring, that reminds us of the witchery of 
Ariosto, and a constant elasticity, and occasional 
energy, which seems to belong more peculiarly to the 
author now before us." — Jeffrey. 



APPENDIX 



TO 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



M 257 



APPENDIX. 
Note A. 

A gray-hair' d sire, whose eye intent 
Was on the vision 'd future bent. — p. 42. 

If force of evidence could authorize us to 
believe facts inconsistent with the general laws 
of nature, enough might be produced in favor 
of the existence of the Second-sight. It is 
called in Gaelic Taishitarauyh, from Taish, 
an unreal or shadowy appearance ; and those 
possessed of the faculty are called Taishatrin, 
which may be aptly translated visionaries. 
Martin, a steady believer in the second-sight, 
gives the following account of it : — 

44 The second- sight is a singular faculty, of 
seeing an otherwise invisible object, without 
any previous means used by the person that 
used it for that end; the vision makes such a 
lively impression upon the seers, that they 
neither see, nor think of anything else, except 
the vision, as long as it continues ; and then 

259 



260 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

they appear pensive or jovial, according to the 
object that was represented to them. 

"At the sight of a vision, the eyelids, of the 
person are erected, and the eyes continue star- 
ing until the object vanish. This is obvious 
to others who are by when the persons happen 
to see a vision, and occurred more than once 
to my own observation, and to others that were 
with me. 

"There is one in Skye, of whom his ac- 
quaintance observed, that when he sees a 
vision, the inner part of his eyelids turn so far 
upwards, that, after the object disappears, he 
must draw them down with his fingers, and 
sometimes employ others to draw them down, 
which he finds to be the much easier way. 

"This faculty of the second-sight does not 
lineally descend in a family, as some imagine, 
for I know several parents who are endowed 
with it, but their children not, and vice versa ; 
neither is it acquired/by any previous compact. 
And, after a strict inquiry, I could never learn 
that this faculty was communicable any way 
whatsoever. 

"The seer knows neither the object, time, 
nor place of a vision before it appears ; and the 
same object is often seen by different persons 
living at a considerable distance from one 
another. The true way of judging as to the 
time and circumstance of an object, is by obser- 
vation ; for several persons of judgment, with- 
out this faculty, are more capable to judge of 
the design of a vision, than a novice that is a 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 261 

seer. If an object appear in the day or night, 
it will come to pass sooner or later accordingly. 

"If an object is seen early in the morning 
(which is not frequent), it will be accomplished 
in a few hours afterwards. If at noon, it will 
commonly be accomplished that very day. If 
in the evening, perhaps that night ; if after can- 
dles be lighted, it will be accomplished that 
night; the latter always in accomplishment, 
by weeks, months, and sometimes years, 
according to the time of night the vision is 
seen. 

4 'When a shroud is perceived about one, it 
is a sure prognostic of death: the time is 
judged according to the height of it about the 
person: for if it is seen above the middle, 
death is not to be expected for the space of a 
year, and perhaps some months longer ; and as 
it is frequently seen to ascend higher towards 
the head, death is concluded to be at hand, 
within a few days, if not hours, as daily experi- 
ence confirms. Examples of this kind were 
shown me, when the persons of whom the ob- 
servations were then made enjoyed perfect 
health. 

14 One instance was lately foretold by a seer, 
that was a novice, concerning the death of one 
of my aquaintance; this was communicated 
to a few only, and with great confidence : I 
being one of the number, did not in the least 
regard it, until the death of the person, about 
the time foretold, did confirm me of the cer- 
tainty of the prediction. The novice men- 
tioned above, is now a skilful seer, as appears 



262 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

from many late instances ; he lives in the par- 
ish of St. Mary's, the most northern in Skye. 

4 'If a woman is seen standing at a man's left 
hand, it is a presage that she will be his wife, 
whether they be married to others, or unmar- 
ried at the time of the apparition. 

44 If two or three women are seen at once 
near a man's left hand, she that is next him 
will undoubtedly be his wife first, and so on, 
whether all three, or the man, be single or 
married at the time of the vision or not; of 
which there are several late instances among 
those of my acquaintance. It is an ordinary 
thing for them to see a man that is to come to 
the house shortly after; and if he is not of the 
seer's acquaintance, yet he gives such a lively 
description of his stature, complexion, habit, 
etc., that upon his arrival he answers the char- 
acter given him in all respects. 

14 If the person so appearing be one of the 
seer's acquaintance, he will tell his name, as 
well as other particulars ; and he can tell by 
his countenance whether he comes in a good or 
bad humor. 

44 .I have been seen thus myself by seers of 
both sexes, at some hundred miles' distance; 
some that saw me in this manner had never 
seen me personally, and it happened according 
to their vision, without any previous design of 
mine to go to these places, my coming there 
being purely accidental. 

44 It is ordinary with them to see houses, gar- 
dens, and trees in places void of all three ; and 
this in progress of time uses to be accom- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 263 

plished: as at Magshot, in the Isle of Skye, 
where there were but a few sorry cowhouses, 
thatched with straw, yet in a very few years 
after, the vision, which appeared often, was 
accomplished, by the building of several good 
houses on the very spot represented by the 
seers, and by the planting of orchards there. 

44 To see a spark of fire fall upon one's arm 
or breast, is a forerunner of a dead child to be 
seen in the arms of those persons, of which 
there are several fresh instances. 

"To see a seat empty at the time of one's 
sitting in it, is a presage of that person's death 
soon after. 

4 'When a novice, or one that has lately 
obtained the second-sight, sees a vision in the 
night-time without doors, and he be near a 
fire, he presently falls into a swoon. 

"Some find themselves as it were in a crowd 
of people, having a corpse which they carry 
along with them; and after such visions the 
seers come in sweating, and describe the peo- 
ple that appeared; if there be any of their 
acquaintance among 'em, they give an account 
of their names, as also of the bearers, but they 
know nothing concerning the corpse. 

"All those who have the second-sight do not 
always see these visions at once, though they 
be together at the time. But if one who has 
this faculty, designedly touch his fellow-seer 
at the instant of a vision's appearing, then the 
second sees it as well as the first ; and this is 
sometimes discerned by those that are near 
them on such occasions." — Martin's Descrip- 



264 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

tion of the Western Islands, 1716, 8vo, p. 300, 
et seq. 

To these particulars innumerable examples 
might be added, all attested by grave and 
credible authors. But, in spite of evidence 
which neither Bacon, Boyle, nor Johnson were 
able to resist, the Taisch, with all its visionary 
properties, seems to be now universally aban- 
doned to the use of poetry. The exquisitely 
beautiful poem of Lochiel will at once recur 
to the recollections of every reader. 

Note B. 

My sire's tall form might grace the part 
Of Ferragus or Ascabart. — P. 47. 

These two sons of Anak flourished in roman- 
tic fable. The first is well known to the ad- 
mirers of Ariosto, by the name of Ferrau. 
He was an antagonist of Orlando, and was at 
length slain by him in single combat. There 
is a romance in the Auchinleck MS., in which 
Ferragus is thus described : — 

"On a day come tiding 
Unto Charls the King 

Al of a doughti knight 
Was comen to Navers. 
Stout he was and fers, 

Vernagu he hight 
Of babiloun the soudan 
Thider him sende gan, 

With King Charls to fight. 
So hard he was to-fond * 
That no dint of brond 

No greud him, aplight. 
He hadde twenti men strengthe 

1 Found, proved. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 265 

And forti fet of length e, 
Thilke painim hede, 1 
And four feet in the face, 
Y-meten 2 in the place, 

And fifteen in brede. 3 
His nose was a f ot and more ; 
His brow, as bristles wore ;* 

He that it seighe it sede. 
He looked lotheliche. 

And was swart 5 as any piche, 
Of him men might adrede." 

Romance of Charlemagne, i. 461-484. 
Auchinleck MS., fol. 265. 

Ascapart or Ascabart makes a very material 
figure in the History of Bevis of Hampton, by 
whom he was conquered. His effigies may be 
seen guarding one side of a gate at Southamp- 
ton, while the other is occupied by Sir Bevis 
himself. The dimensions of Ascabart were 
little inferior to those of Ferragus, if the fol- 
lowing description be correct : — 

"They metten with a geaunt, 
With a lothelithe semblaunt. 
He was wonderliche strong, 
Rome 6 thretti fote long 
His berd was hot gret and rowe ; 7 
A space of a fot between is 8 browe ; 
His clob was, to yeue 9 a strok, 
A lite bodi of an oak. x ° 

'Beues hadde of him wonder gret, 
And askede him what a net, 11 
And yaf 1 2 men of his contre 
Were ase meche ase 1 3 was he 



1 Had. 2 Measured. 8 Breadth. 4 Were. B Black. 
6 Fully. * Rough. 8 His. 9 Give. 10 The stem of a 
little oak-tree. 1 1 He hight, was called. 12 If. 13 Great. 



266 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

'Me name/ a sede, * 4 is Aseopard, 
Graci me sent hiderward, 
For to bring this quene ayen 
And the Beues her of-slen. 2 
Icham Graci is 3 champioun, 
And was i-driue out of me 4 toun.] 
Al for that ich was so lite. 5 

Eueri man me wolde smite, 
Ich was so lite and so merugh ; 6 
Eueri man me clepede dwerugh, 7 
And now icham in this londe, 
I wax mor 8 ich understonde, 
And stranger than other tene ; 9 
And that schel on us be sene.' " 

Sir Bevis of Hampton, r, 2512. 
Auchinleck MS., fol. 189. 



Note C. 
In Holy-Rood a Knight he slew. — P. 67. 

This was by no means an uncommon occur- 
rence in the court of Scotland ; nay, the pres- 
ence of the sovereign himself scarcely 
restrained the ferocious and inveterate feuds 
which were the perpetual source of bloodshed 
among the Scottish nobility. The following 
instance of the murder of Sir William Stuart 
of Ochiltree, called The Bloody, by the cele- 
brated Francis, Earl of Bothwell, may be pro- 
duced among many; but, as the offense given 
in the royal court will hardly bear a vernacu- 
lar translation, I shall leave the story in John- 



1 He said. 2 slay. 3 His. 4 My. B Little. 6 Lean. 
7 Dwarf. 8 Greater, taller. 9 Ten. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 267 

stone's Latin, referring for farther particulars 
to the naked simplicity of Birrell's Diary, 30th 
July, 1588. 

"Mors improbi hominis non tarn ipsa immer- 
ita, quam pessimo exemplo in publicum, faede 
perpetrata. Gulielmus Stuartus Alkiltrius, 
Arani frater, natura ac moribus, cujus ssepius 
memini, vulgo propter sitem sanguinis san- 
guinarius dictus, a Bothvelio, in Sanctae Crucis 
Regia exardescente ira, mendacii probro laces- 
situs, obscsenum osculum liberius retorquebat; 
Bothvelius hanc contumeliam tacitus tulit, sed 
ingentum irarum molem animo concepit. 
Utrinque postridie Edinburgi conventum, 
totidem numero comitibus armatis praesidii 
causa, et acriter pugnatum est; caeteris amicis. 
et clientibus metu torpentibus, aut vi abster- 
ritus, ipse Stuartus fortissime dimicat ; tandem 
excusso gladio a Bothvelio Scythica feritate 
transfoditur, sine cujusquam misericordia; 
habuit itague quern debuit exitum. Dignus 
erat Stuartus qui pateretur; Bothvelius qui 
faceret. Vulgus sanguinem sanguine prae- 
dicabit, et horum cruore innocuorum manibus 
egregie parentatum. ' ' — Johnstoni Historici 
Rerum Britannicarum, ab anno 1572 ad annum 
1628. Amstelodami, 1655, fol. p. 135. 

Note D. 

Did, self-unscabbarded, foreshow 
The footstep of a secret foe. — P. 72. 

The ancient warriors, whose hope and con- 
fidence rested chiefly in their blades, were 



268 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

accustomed to deduce omens from them, 
especially from such as were supposed to have 
been fabricated by enchanted skill, of which 
we have various instances in the romances and 
legends of the time. The wonderful sword 
Skofnung, wielded by the celebrated Hrolf 
Kraka, was of this description. It was depos- 
ited in the tomb of the monarch at his death, 
and taken from thence by Skeggo, a celebrated 
pirate, who bestowed it upon his son-in-law, 
Kormak, with the following curious directions: 
— " l The manner of using it will appear strange 
to you. A small bag is attached to it, which 
take heed not to violate. Let not the rays of 
the sun touch the upper part of the handle, nor 
unsheath it, unless thou art ready for battle. 
But when thou comest to the place of fight, 
go aside from the rest, grasp and extend the 
sword, and breathe upon it. Then a small 
worm will creep out of the handle, that he may 
more easily return into it;' Kormak, after 
having received the sword, returned home to 
bis mother. He showed the sword, and at- 
tempted to draw it, as unnecessarily as ineffec- 
tually, for he could not pluck it out of the 
sheath. His mother, Dalla, exclaimed, 'Do 
not despise the counsel given to thee, my son. ' 
Kormak, however, repeating his efforts, 
pressed down the handle with his feet, and 
tore off the bag, when Skofnung emitted a hol- 
low groan ; but still he could not unsheathe the 
sword. Kormak then went out with Bessus, 
whom he had challenged to fight with him, 
and drew apart at the place of combat. He 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 269 

sat down upon the ground, and ungirding the 
sword, which he bore above his vestments, 
did not remember to shield the hilt from the 
rays of the sun. In vain he endeavored to 
draw it, till he placed his foot against the hilt; 
then the worm issued from it. But Kormak 
did not rightly handle the weapon, in conse- 
quence whereof good fortune deserted it. As 
be unsheathed Skonfung, it emitted a hollow 
murmur." — Bartholini de Causis Contemptae a 
Danis adhuc Gentilibus Mortis, Libri Tres. 
Hafniae, 1680, 4to, p. 574. 

To the history of this sentient and pres- 
cient weapon, I beg leave to add, from mem- 
ory, the following legend, for which I cannot 
produce any better authority. A young noble- 
man, of high hopes and fortune, chanced to 
lose his way in the town which he inhabited, 
the capital, if I mistake not, of a German prov- 
ince. He had accidentally involved himself 
among the narrow and winding streets of a 
suburb, inhabited by the lowest order of the 
people, and an approaching thunder-shower 
determined him to ask a short refuge in the 
most decent habitation that was near him. 
He knocked at the door, which was opened by 
a tall man, of a grisly and ferocious aspect, 
and sordid dress. The stranger was readily 
ushered to a chamber, where swords, scourges, 
and machines, which seemed to be implements 
of torture, were suspended on the wall. One 
of these swords dropped from its scabbard as 
the nobleman, after a moment's hesitation, 
crossed the threshold. His host immediately 



270 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

stared at him with such a marked expression, 
that the young man could not help demanding 
this name and business, and the meaning of 
his looking at him so fixedly. "I am," an- 
swered the man, "the public executioner of 
this city; and the incident you have observed 
is a sure augury that I shall, in discharge of 
my duty, one day cut off your head with the 
weapon which has just now spontaneously un- 
sheathed itself. " The nobleman lost no time 
in leaving his place of refuge ; but, engaging 
in some of the plots of the period, was shortly 
after decapitated by that very man and instru- 
ment. 

Lord Lovat is said, by the author of the 
"Letters from Scotland, " to have affirmed, 
that a number of swords that hung up in the 
hall of the mansion-house leaped of them- 
selves out of the scabbard at the instant he was 
born. The story passed current among his 
clan, but, like that of the story I have just 
quoted, proved an unfortunate omen. — Letters 
from Scotland, vol. ii. p. 214. 

Note E. 

The best of Loch Lomond lie dead on her side. — P. 77. 

The Lennox, as the district is called, which 
encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, 
was peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the 
mountaineers, who inhabited the inaccessible 
fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the 
neighboring district of Loch Katrine. These 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 271 

were often marked by circumstances of great 
ferocity, of which the noted conflict of Glen- 
fruin is a celebrated instance. This was a 
clan-battle, in which the Macgregors, headed 
by Allaster Macgregor, chief of the clan, 
encountered the sept of Colquhouns, com- 
manded by Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss. 
It is on all hands allowed that the action was 
desperately fought, and that the Colquhouns 
were defeated with great slaughter, leaving two 
hundred of their name dead upon the field. 
But popular tradition has added other hor- 
rors to the tale. It is said, that Sir Humphrey 
Colquhoun, who was on horseback, escaped to 
the castle of Benechra, or Banochar, and was 
next day dragged out and murdered by the vic- 
torious Macgregors in cold blood. Buchanan 
of Auchmar, however, speaks of his slaughter 
as a subsequent event, and as perpetrated by 
the Macfarlanes. Again, it is reported that 
the Macgregors murdered a number of youths, 
whom report of the intended battle had 
brought to be spectators, and whom the Col- 
quhouns, anxious for their safety, had shut up 
in a barn to be out of danger. One account of 
the Macgregors denies this circumstance 
entirely: another ascribes it to the savage and 
bloodthirsty disposition of a single individual, 
the bastard brother of the laird of Macgregor, 
who amused himself with this second massacre 
of the innocents, in express disobedience to the 
chief, by whom he was left their guardian dur- 
ing the pursuit of the Colquhouns. It is added, 
that Macgregor bitterly lamented this atroci- 



272 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

ous action, and prophesied the ruin which it 
must bring upon their ancient clan. The fol- 
lowing account of the conflict, which is indeed 
drawn up by a friend of the Clan-Gregor, is 
altogether silent on the murder of the youths. 
44 In the spring of the year 1602, there happened 
great dissentions and troubles between the 
laird of Luss, chief of the Colquhouns, and 
Alexander, laird of Macgregor. The original 
of these quarrels proceeded from injuries and 
provocations mutually given and received not 
long before. Macgregor, however, wanting 
to have them ended in friendly conferences, 
marched at the head of two hundred of his 
clan to Leven, which borders on Luss, his 
country, with a view of settling matters by 
the mediation of friends : but Luss had no such 
intentions, and projected his measures with a 
different view; for he privately drew together 
a body of three hundred horse and five hundred 
foot, composed partly of his own clan and their 
followers, and partly of the Buchanans, his 
neighbors, and resolved to cut off Macgregor 
and his party to a man, in case the issue of the 
conference did not answer his inclination. 
But matters fell otherwise than he expected; 
and though Macgregor had previous informa- 
tion of his insidious design, yet, dissembling 
his resentment, he kept the appointment, and 
parted good friends in appearance. 

"No sooner was he gone, than Luss, think- 
ing to surprise him and his party in full secur- 
ity, and without any dread or apprehension of 
his treacher}^ followed with all speed, and 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 273 

came tip with him at a place called Glenfroon. 
Macgregor, upon the alarm, divided his men 
into two parties, the greatest part whereof he 
commanded himself, and the other he com- 
mitted to the care of his brother John, who, 
by his orders, lend them about another way, 
and attacked the Colquhouns in flank. Here 
it was fought with great bravery on both sides 
for a considerable time ; and, notwithstanding 
the vast disproportion of numbers, Macgregor, 
in the end, obtained an absolute victory. So 
great was the rout, that two hundred of the 
Colquhouns were left dead upon the spot, most 
of the leading men were killed, and a multitude 
of prisoners taken. But what seemed most 
surprising and incredible in this defeat, was, 
that none of the Macgregors were missing, 
except John, the laird's brother, and one com- 
mon fellow, though indeed many of them were 
wounded. " — Professor Ross's History of the 
Family of Southerland, 1631. 

The consequences of the battle of Glen-fruin 
was very calamitous to the family of Macgregor, 
who had already been considered as an unruly 
clan. The widows of the slain Colquhouns, 
sixty, it is said, in number, appeared in doleful 
procession be fore the king at Stirling, each rid- 
ing upon a white palfrey, and bearing in her 
hand the bloody shirt of her husband displayed 
upon a pike. James VI. was so much moved 
by the complaints of this "choir of mourning 
dames/ ' that he let loose his vengeance against 
the Macgregors, without either bounds or mod- 
eration. The very name of the clan was pro- 

18 



274 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

scribed, and those by whom it had been borne 
were given up to sword and fire, and absolutely 
hunted down by bloodhounds like wild beasts. 
Argyle and the Campbells on the one hand, 
Montrose with the Grahames and Buchanans on 
the other, are said to have been the chief 
instruments in suppressing this devoted clan. 
The laird of Macgregor surrendered to the 
former, on condition that he would take him 
out of Scottish ground. But, to use Birrell's 
expression, he kept "a Highlandman's prom- 
ise ;" and, although he fulfilled his word to the 
letter, by carrying him as far as Berwick, he 
afterwards brought him back to Edinburgh, 
where he was executed with eighteen of his 
clan (Birrell's Diary, 2d October, 1603). The 
clan, Gregor, being thus driven to utter 
despair, seemed to have renounced the laws 
from the benefit of which they were excluded, 
and their depredations produced new acts of 
council confirming the severity of their pro- 
scription, which had only the effect of render- 
ing them still more united and desperate. It 
is a most extraordinary proof of the ardent and 
invincible spirit of clanship, that, notwithstand- 
ing the repeated proscriptions providently 
ordained by the legislature, "for the timeous 
preventing the disorders and oppression that 
may fall out by the said name and clan of 
Macgregors and their followers, ' ' they were in 
1715 and 1745 a potent clan, and continue to 
subsist as a distinct and numerous race. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 275 

Note F. 

And while the Fiery Cross glanced, like a meteor, round, 

—P. 98. 

When a chieftain designed to summon his 
clan, upon any sudden or important emergency, 
he slew a goat, and making a cross of any light 
wood, seared its extremities in the fire, and 
extinguished them in the blood of the animal. 
This was called the Fiery Cross, also Crean 
Tarigh, or the Cross of Shame, because diso- 
bedience to what the symbol implied inferred 
infamy. It was delivered to a swift and trusty 
messenger, who ran full speed with it to the 
next hamlet, where he presented it to the prin- 
cipal person, with a single word, implying the 
place of rendezvous. He who received the 
symbol was bound to send it forward with 
equal dispatch to the next village; and thus it 
passed with incredible celerity through all the 
district which owed allegiance to the chief, and 
also among his allies and neighbors, if the 
danger was common to them. At sight of the 
Fiery Cross, every man, from sixteen years 
old to sixty, capable of bearing arms, was 
obliged instantly to repair, in his best arms 
and accoutrements, to the place of rendezvous. 
He who failed to appear suffered the extrem- 
ities of fire and sword, which were emble- 
matically denounced to the disobedient by the 
bloody and burnt marks upon this warlike 
signal. During the civil war of 1745-6, the 
Fiery Cross often made its circuit : and on one 
occasion it passed through the whole district 



276 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

of Breadalbane, a tract of thirty-two miles, in 
three hours. The late Alexander Stewart, 
Esq., of Invernahyle, described to me his hav- 
ing sent round the Fiery Cross through the 
district of Appine, during the same commo- 
tion. The coast was threatened by a descent 
from two English frigates, and the flower of 
the young men were with the army of Prince 
Charles Edward, then in England; yet the 
summons was so effectual, that even old age 
and childhood obeyed it; and a force was col- 
lected in a few hours, so numerous and so 
enthusiastic, that all attempt at the intended 
diversion upon the country of the absent war- 
riors was in prudence abandoned, as desperate. 

This practice, like some others, is common to 
the Highlanders with the ancient Scandinavi- 
ans, as will appear by the following extract 
from Olaus Magnus: — 

"When the enemy is upon the sea-coast, or 
within the limits of northern kingdomes, then 
presently, by the command of the principal 
governours, with the counsel and consent of 
the old soldiers, who are notably skilled in such 
like business, a staff of three hands length, in 
the common sight of them all, is carried, by 
the speedy running of some active young man, 
unto that village, or city, with this command, 
— that on the third, fourth, or eighth day, one, 
two, or three, or else every man in particular, 
from fifteen years old, shall come with his 
arms, and expenses for ten or twenty days, 
upon pain that his or their houses shall be 
burnt (which is intimated by the burning of 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 277 

the staff), or else the master to be hanged 
(which is signified by the cord tied to it), to 
appear speedily on such a bank, or field, or 
valley, to hear the cause he is called, and to 
hear orders from the said provincial governours 
what he shall do. Wherefore that messenger, 
swifter than any post or waggon, having done 
his commission, comes slowly back again, 
bringing a token with him that he hath done 
all legally, and every moment one or another 
runs to every village, and tells those places 
what they must do. " . . . " The messengers, 
therefore, of the footmen, that are to give 
warning to the people to meet for the battail, 
run fiercely and swiftly; for no snow, no rain, 
nor heat can stop them, nor night hold them; 
but they will soon run the race they undertake. 
The first messenger tells it to the next village, 
and that to the next, and so the hubbub runs all 
over till they all know it in that stift or terri- 
tory, where, when, and wherefore they must 
meet. " — Olaus Magnus's History of the Goths, 
englished by J. S., Lond. 1658, book iv. chap. 
3, 4- 

Note G. 

That monk, of savage form and face. — P. 100. 

The state of religion in the middle ages 
afforded considerable facilities for those whose 
mode of life excluded them from regular wor- 
ship, to secure, nevertheless, the ghostly assist- 
ance of confessors, perfectly willing to adapt the 
nature of their doctrine to the necessities and 



278 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

peculiar circumstances of their flock. Robin- 
Hood, it is well known, had his celebrated 
domestic chaplain, Friar Tuck. And that 
same curtal friar was probably matched in 
manners and appearance by the ghostly fathers 
of the Tynedale robbers, who are thus described 
in an excommunication fulminated against 
their patrons by Richard Fox, Bishop of Dur- 
ham, tempore Henrici VII. u We have further 
understood, that there are many chaplains in 
the said territories of Tynedale and Redes- 
dale, who are public and open maintainers of 
concubinage, irregular, suspended, excommun- 
icated, and interdicted persons, and withal so 
utterly ignorant of letters, that it has been 
found by those who objected this to them, 
that there were some who, having celebrated 
mass for ten years, were still unable to read 
the sacramental service. We have also under- 
stood there are persons among them who, 
although not ordained, do take upon them the 
offices of priesthood; and, in contempt of God, 
celebrate the divine and sacred rites, and 
administer the sacraments, not only in sacred 
and dedicated places, but in those which are 
profane and interdicted, and most wretchedly 
ruinous; they themselves being attired in 
ragged, torn, and most filthy vestments, alto- 
gether unfit to be used in divine, or even in 
temporal offices. The which said chaplains do 
administer sacraments and sacramental rites to 
the aforesaid manifest and infamous thieves, 
robbers, depredators, receivers of stolen goods, 
and plunderers, and that without restitution, 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 279 

or intention to restore, as evinced by the act ; 
and do also openly admit them to the rites of 
ecclesiastical sepulchre, without exacting 
security for restitution, although they are pro- 
hibited from doing so by the sacred canons, as 
well as by the institutes of the saints and 
fathers. All which infers the heavy peril of 
their own souls, and is a pernicious example to 
the other believers in Christ, as well as no 
slight, but an aggravated injury, to the num- 
bers despoiled and plundered of their goods, 
gear, herds, and chattels."* 

To this lively and picturesque description of 
the confessors and churchmen of predatory 
tribes, there may be added some curious par- 
ticulars respecting the priests attached to the 
several septs of native Irish, during the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth. These friars had indeed 
to plead, that the incursions, which they not 
only pardoned, but even encouraged were made 
upon those hostile to them, as well in religion 
as from national antipathy ; but by Protestant 
writers they are uniformly alleged to be the 
chief instruments of Irish insurrection, the 
very well-spring of all rebellion towards the 
English government. Lithgow, the Scottish 
traveler, declares the Irish wood-kerne, or 
predatory tribes, to be but the hounds of their 



* The Monition against the Robbers of Tynedale and 
Redesdale, with which I was favored by my friend Mr. 
Surtees of Mainsforth, may be found in the original 
Latin, in the Appendix to the Introduction to the ''Bor- 
der Minstrelsy/'" No. VII. vol. i. p. 274 of the Edinburgh 
edition. 12 vols. 



280 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

hunting-priests, who directed their incursions 
by their pleasure, partly for sustenance, partly 
to gratify animosity, partly to foment general 
diversion, and always for the better security 
and easy domination of the friars. * Derrick, 
the liveliness and minuteness of whose descrip- 
tions may frequently apologize for his doggerel 
verses, after describing an Irish feast, and 
the encouragement given by the songs of the 
bards to its termination in an incursion upon 
the parts of the country more immediately 
under the dominion of the English, records the 
no less powerful arguments used by the friar 
to excite their animosity : — 

"And more t'augment the flame, 

and rancour of their harte, 
The frier, of his counsells vile, 

to rebel les doth imparte 
Affirming that it is 

an almose deede to God, 
To make the English subjects taste 

the Irish rebel? s rodde. 
To spoile, to kill, to burne, 

this frier's counsell is; 
And for the doing of the same, 

he warrantes heavenlie blisse. 
He telles a heolie tale ; 

the white he tournes to blacke; 
And through the pardons in his male, 

he workes a knavishe knacke." 

The wrecfcful invasion of a part of the Eng- 
lish pale is then described with some spirit; 
the burning of houses, driving off cattle, and 
all pertaining to such predatory inroads, are 
illustrated by a rude cut. The defeat of the 

* "Lithgow's Travels," first edition, p. 431. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 281 

Irish by a party of English soldiers from the 
next garrison is then commemorated, and in 
like manner adorned with an engraving, in 
which the friar is exhibited mourning over the 
slain chieftain ; or, as the rubric expresses it, 

"The frier then, that treacherous knave; with ough 

ough-hone lament. 
To see his cousin Devill's-son to have so foul event." 

The matter is handled at great length in the 
text, of which the following verses are more 
than a sufficient sample : — 

"The frier seying this, 

lamentes that lucklesse parte, 
And curseth to the pitte of hell 

the death man's sturdie harte 
Yet for to quight them with 

the frier taketh paine, 
For all the synnes that ere he did 

remission to obtain. 
And therefore serves his booke, 

the candell and the bell. 
But thinke you that such apishe toies 

bring damned souls from hell? 
It 'longs not to my parte 

infernall things to knowe; 
But I believe till later daie, 

thei rise not from belowe. 
Yet hope that friers give 

to this rebellious rout, 
If that their souls should chaunce in hell, 

to bring them quicklie out, 
Doeth make them lead suche lives, 

as neither God nor man, 
Without revenge for their desartes, 

permitte or suffer can. 
Thus friers are the cause, 

the fountain, and the spring, 
Of hurleburles in this lande, 



282 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

of eche unhappie thing. 
Thei cause them to rebelle 

against their soveraigne quene, 
And through rebellion often tymes, 

their lives doe vanish clene. 
So as by friers' meanes, 

in whom all follie swimme, 
The Irishe karne doe often lose 

the life, with hedde and limme."* 

As the Irish tribes, and those of the Scottish 
Highlanders, are much more intimately allied 
by language, manners, dress, and customs than 
the antiquaries of either country have been 
willing to admit, I flatter myself I have here 
produced a strong warrant for the character 
sketched in the text. The following picture, 
though of a different kind, serves to establish 
the existence of ascetic religionists, to a com- 
paratively late period, in the Highlands and 
Western Isles. There is a great deal of sim- 
plicity in the description, for which, as for 
much similar information, I am obliged to Dr. 
John Martin, who visited the Hebrides at the 
suggestion of Sir Robert Sibbald, a Scottish 
antiquarian of eminence, and early in the 
eighteenth century published a description of 
them, which procured him admission into the 
Royal Society. He died in London about 
1 7 19. His work is a strange mixture of learn- 
ing, observation, and gross credulity. 

*This curious picture of Ireland was inserted by t\a 
author in the republication of Somers's Tracts, vol. i., 
in which the plates have been also inserted, from the 
only impressions known to exist, belonging to the copy 
in the Advocates' Library. See Somers's Tracts, vol. i. 
PP. 59i» 594- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 283 

"X remember," says this author, "I have 
seen an old lay-capuchin here (in the Island 
of Benbecula), called in their language Brahir- 
bocht, that is, Poor Brother; which is literally 
true; for he answers this character, having 
nothing but what is given him: he holds him- 
self fully satisfied with food and rayment, and 
lives in as great simplicity as any of his order: 
his diet is very mean, and he drinks only fair 
water; his habit is no less mortifying than that 
of his brethren elsewhere: he wears a short 
coat, which comes no farther than his middle, 
with narrow sleeves like a waistcoat: he wears 
a plad above it, girt about the middle, which 
reaches to his knee : the plad is fastened on his 
breast with a wooden pin, his neck bare, and 
his feet often so too; he wears a hat for orna- 
ment, and the string about it is a bit of a 
fisher's line, made of horse-hair. This plad 
he wears instead of a gown worn by those of 
his order in other countries. I told him he 
wanted the flaxen girdle that men of his order 
usually wear: he answered me, that he wore 
a leathern one, which was the same thing. 
Upon the matter, if he is spoke to when at 
meat, he answers again ; which is contrary to 
the custom of his order. This poor man fre- 
quently diverts himself with angling of trouts ; 
he lies upon straw, and has no bell (as others 
have) to call him to his devotions, bat only his 
conscience, as he told me." — Martin's Descrip- 
tion of the Western Highlands, p. 82. 



284 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Note H. 

Sounds, too, had come in midnight blast 

Of charging steeds, careering fast 

Along Benharrow's shingly side, 

Where mortal horseman ne'er might ride. — P. 107. 

A presage, of the kind alluded to in the 
text, is still believed to announce death to the 
ancient Highland family of M'Lean of Loch- 
buy. The spirit of an ancestor slain in battle is 
heard to gallop along a stony bank, and then to 
ride thrice around the family residence, ring- 
ing his fairy bridle, and thus intimating the 
approaching calamity. How easily the eye as 
well as the ear may be deceived upon such 
occasions, is evident from the stories of armies 
in the air, and other spectral phenomena, with 
which history abounds. Such an apparition is 
said to have been witnessed upon the side of 
Southfell mountain, between Penrith and 
Keswick, upon the 23d June, 1744, by two 
persons, William Lancaster of Blakehills, and 
Daniel Stricket his servant, whose attestation 
to the fact with a full account of the appari- 
tion, dated the 21st July, 1745, is printed in 
Clarke's "Survej^ of the Lakes. " The appari- 
tion consisted of several troops of horse mov- 
ing in regular order, with a steady rapid 
motion, making a curved sweep around the 
fell, and seeming to the spectators to disap- 
pear over the ridge of the mountain. Many 
persons witnessed this phenomenon, and 
observed the last, or last but one, of the sup- 
posed troop, occasionally leave his rank, and 
pass at a gallop to the front, when he resumed 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 285 

the same steady pace. This curious appear- 
ance, making the necessary allowance for imag- 
ination, may be perhaps sufficiently accounted 
for by optical deception. — Survey of the 
Lakes, p. 25. 

Supernatural intimations of approaching fate 
are not, I believe, confined to Highland fam- 
ilies. Howel mentions having seen, at a lapi- 
dary's, in 1632, a monumental stone, prepared 
for four persons of the name of Oxenham, 
before the death of each of whom the inscrip- 
tion stated a white bird to have appeared and 
fluttered around the bed while the patient was 
in the last agony (Familiar Letters, edit, 1726, 
p. 247). Glanville mentions one family, the 
members of which received this solemn sign by 
music, the sound of which floated from the 
family residence, and seemed to die in a neigh- 
boring wood; another, that of Captain Wood, 
of Bampton, to whom the signal was given by 
knocking. But the most remarkable instance 
of the kind occurs in the MS. Memoirs of 
Lady Fanshaw, so exemplary for her conjugal 
affection. Her husband, Sir Richard, and she, 
chanced, during their abode in Ireland, to visit 
a friend, the head of a sept, who resided in his 
ancient baronial castle, surrounded with a moaL 
At midnight she was awakened by a ghastly 
and supernatural scream, and looking out of 
bed, beheld, by the moonlight, a female face 
and part of the form, hovering at the window. 
The distance from the ground, as well as the 
circumstance of the moat, excluded the possi- 
bility that what she beheld was of this world. 



286 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

The face was that of a young and rather hand- 
some woman, but pale; and the hair, which 
was reddish, was loose and dishevelled. The 
dress, which Lady Fanshaw's terror did not 
prevent her remarking- accurate ly, was that of 
the ancient Irish. This apparition continued 
to exhibit itself for some time, and then van- 
ished, with two shrieks similar to that which 
had first excited Lady Fanshaw's attention. 
In the morning, with infinite terror, she com- 
municated to her host what she had witnessed, 
and found him prepared not only to credit but 
to account for the apparition. "A near rela- 
tion of my family, *' said he, "expired last night 
in this castle. We disguised our certain 
expectation of the event from you, lest it should 
throw a cloud over the cheerful reception which 
was due you. Now, before such an event hap- 
pens in this family and castle, the female 
spectre whom you have seen always is visible. 
She is believed to be the spirit of a woman of 
inferior rank, whom one of my ancestors 
degraded himself by marrying, and whom 
afterwards, to expiate the dishonor done his 
family, he caused to be drowned in the castle 
moat.'' 

Note I. 

The Taghairm call'd ; by which, afar, 

Our sires foresaw the events of war. — P. 138. 

The Highlanders, like all rude people, had 
various superstitious modes of inquiring into 
futurity. One of the most noted was the Tagh- 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 287 

hairm, mentioned in the text. A person was 
wrapped up in a skin of a newly slain bullock, 
and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bot- 
tom of a precipice, or in some other strange, 
wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery 
around him suggested nothing but objects of 
horror. In this situation he revolved in his 
mind the question proposed: and whatever was 
impressed upon him by his exalted imagination, 
passed for the inspiration of the disembodied 
spirits, who haunt the desolate recesses. In 
some of these Hebrides, they attribute the same 
oracular power to a large black stone by the 
sea-shore, which they approached with certain 
solemnities, and considered the first fancy 
which came into their own minds, after they 
did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the 
tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, 
if possible, punctually complied with. Martin 
has recorded the following curious modes of 
Highland augury, in which the Taghairm and 
its effects upon the person who was subjected 
to it, may serve to illustrate the text. 

"It was an ordinary thing among the over- 
curious to consult an invisible oracle, concern- 
ing the fate of families and battles, etc. This 
was performed three different ways : the first 
was by a company of men, one of whom, being 
detached by lot, was afterwards carried to a 
river, which was the boundary between two 
villages; four of the company laid hold on 
him, and, having shut his eyes, betook him by 
the legs and arms, and then, tossing him to 
and again, struck his hips with force against 



288 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

the bank. One of them cried out, 'What is it 
you have got here?' another answers, 4 A log 
of birch- wood. ■ The other cries again, ' Let 
his invisible friends appear from all quarters, 
and let them relieve him by giving an answer 
to our present demands; and in a few 
minutes after, a number of little creatures came 
from the sea, who answered the question, and 
disappeared suddenly. The man was then set 
at liberty, and they all returned home, to take 
their measures according to the predictions of 
their false prophets; but the poor deluded 
fools were abused, for their answer was still 
ambiguous. This was always practiced in the 
night, and may literally be called the works of 
darkness. 

"I had an account from the most intelligent 
and judicious men in the Isle of Skye, that 
about sixty-two years ago, the oracle was thus 
consulted only once, and that was in the parish 
of Kilmartin, on the east side, by a wicked and 
mischievous race of people, who are now ex- 
tinguished, both root and branch. 

" The second way of consulting the oracle 
was by a party of men, who first retired to 
solitary places, remote from any house, and 
there they singled out one of their number, 
and wrapt him in a big cow's hide, which they 
folded about him ; his whole body was covered 
with it, except his head, and so left in this 
posture all night, until his invisible friends 
relieved him, by giving a proper answer to the 
question in hand; which he received, as he 
fancied, from several persons that he found 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 239 

about him all that time. His consorts returned 
to him at the break of day, and then he com- 
municated his news to them; which often 
proved fatal to those concerned in such un- 
warrantable inquiries. 

44 There was a third way of consulting, 
which was a confirmation of the second above 
mentioned. The same company who put the 
man into the hide, took a live cat, and put 
him on a spit ; one of the number was em- 
ployed to turn the spit, and one of his consorts 
inquired of him, 4 What are you doing?' he an- 
swered, 4 I roast this cat, until his friends an- 
swer the question-/ which must be the same 
that was proposed to the man shut up in the 
hide. And afterwards, a very big cat * comes, 
attended by a number of lesser cats, desiring 
to relieve the cat turned upon the spit, and 
then answers the question. If this answer 
proved the same that was given to the man in 
the hide, then it was taken as a confirmation 
of the other, which, in this case, was believed 
infallible. 

44 Mr. Alexander Cooper, present minister 
of North-Vist, told me that one John Erach, 
in the Isle of Lewis, assured him it was his 
fate to have been led by his curiosity with 
some who consulted this oracle, and that he 
was a night within the hide, as above men- 
tioned ; during which time he felt and heard 
such terrible things, that he could not express 

* The reader may have met with the story of the 
"King of the Cats," in Lord Littleton's Letters. It is 
well known in the Highlands as a nursery tale. 

19 



290 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

them ; the impression it made on him was such 
as could never go off, and he said, for a thou- 
sand worlds he would never again be con- 
cerned in the like performance, for this had 
disordered him to a high degree. He con- 
fessed it ingeniously, and, with an air of great 
remorse, and seemed to be penitent under a 
just sense of so great a crime: he declared this 
about five years since, and is still living in the 
Lewis for anything I know." — Description of 
the Western Isles, p. no. See also Pennant's 
Scottish Tour, vol. n. p. 361. 

Note K. 
Alice Brand. — P. 148. 

This little fairy tale is founded upon a very 
curious Danish ballad, which occurs in the 
Koempe Viser, a collection of heroic songs, 
first published in 1591, and reprinted in 1695, 
inscribed by Anders Sofrensen, the collector 
and editor, to Sophia, Queen of Denmark. I 
have been favored with a literal translation 
of the original, by my learned friend Mr. 
Robert Jamieson, whose deep knowledge of 
Scandinavian antiquities will, I hope, one day 
be displayed in illustration of the history of 
Scottish Ballad and Song, for which no man 
possesses more ample materials. The story 
will remind the readers of the Border Min- 
strelsy of the tale of "Young Tamlane. " But 
this is only a solitary and not very marked in- 
stance of coincidence, whereas several of the 
other ballads in the same collection find exact 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 291 

counterparts in the Koempe Viser. Which 
may have been the originals, will be a ques- 
tion for future antiquaries. Mr. Jamieson, to 
secure the power of literal translation, has 
adopted the old Scottish idiom, which 
approaches so near to that of the Danish, as 
almost to give word for word, as well as line 
for line, and indeed in many verses the orthog- 
raphy alone is altered. As Wester Half, men- 
tioned in the first stanzas of the ballad, means 
the West Sea, in opposition to the Baltic, or 
East Sea Mr. Jamieson inclines to be of 
opinion, that the scene of the disenchantment 
is laid in one of the Orkney or Hebride 
Islands. To each verse in the original is 
added a burden, having a kind of meaning of 
its own, but not applicable, at least not uni- 
formly applicable, to the sense of the stanza 
to which it is subjoined; this is very common, 
both in Danish and Scottish song. 

THE ELFIN GRAY. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH "K^MPE VISER," PAGE 143, 
AND FIRST PUBLISHED IN I59I. 

Der ligger en void i Vester Haf 

Der agter en bonde at bygge. 
Hand forer did haade hog og hund, 

Og agter der om vinteren at ligge. 
(De vilde diur og diurene udi skorven.) 



There liggs a wold in Wester Haf, 
There a husbande means to bigg, 

And thither he carries baith hawk and hound, 
There meaning the winter to ligg. 

(The wild deer and daes i' the shaw out.) 



292 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



ii. 
He taks wi* him baith hound and cock, 

The langer he means to stay, 
The wild deer in the shaws that are, 

May sairly rue the day. 
(The wild deer, etc.) 

in. 
He's hewed the beech, and he's fell'd the aik, 

Sae has he the poplar gray ; 
And grim in mood was the grewsome elf. 

That be sae bald he may. 

IV. 

He hew'd him kipples, he hew'd him bawks, 

Wi' mickle moil and haste ; 
Syne speer'd the Elf i' the knock that bade 

"Wha's hacking here sae fast? 



Syne up and spak the weiest Elf, 

Crean'd as an immert sma: 
"It's here is come a Christian man; — 

I'll fley him or he ga." 

VI. 

It's up syne started the firsten Elf, 

And glowr'd about sae grim : 
"It's we'll awa to the husbande *s house, 

And hald a court on him. 

VII. 

"Here hews he down baith skugg and shaw 
And works us skaith and scorn : 

His huswife he sail gie to me ; — 
They's rue the day they were born!" 

VIII. 

The Elfin a' i' the knock that were, 

Gaed dancing in a string: 
They nighed near the husband's house; 

Sae lang their tails did hing. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 293 

IX. 

The hound he yowls i' the yard, 

The herd toots in his horn ; 
The earn scraighs, and the cock craws, 

As the husbande has gi'en him his corn.* 

x. 

The Elf en were five score and seven, 

Sai laidly and sae grim ; 
And they the husband's guests maun be, 

To eat and drink wi' him. 

XI. 

The husbande, out o' Villenshaw 

At his winnock the elves can see : 
•'Help me now, Jesu, Mary's son; 

Their Elves they mint at me!" 

XII. 

In every nook a cross he coost, 

In his chalme maist awa ; 
The Elfen a' were fley'd thereat, 

And flew to the wind- wood shaw. 

XIII. 

And some flew east, and some flew west, 

And some to the norwart flew ; 
And some they flew to the deep dale down, 

There still they are I trow.f 

* This singular quatrain stands thus in the original: — 

"Hunden hand gior i gaarden; 

Hiorden tude i sit horn ; 
GErnen skriger, og hanen galer, 
Som bonden hafde gifvet sit korn." 

f In the Danish : — 

"Somme floye oster, og sommefloye vester, 

Nogle floye nor paa 
Nogle floye ned i dybene dale, 

Jeg troer de ere der endue." 



294 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XIV. 

It was then the weist Elf, 

In at the door braids he ; 
Agast was the husbande, for that Elf 

For cross nor sign wad flee. 

xv. 

The huswife she was a canny wife, 
She set the Elf at the board; 

She set before him baithe ale and meat 
Wi' many a weel-waled word. 

XVI. 

"Hear thou, Gudeman o* Villenshaw, 

What now I say to thee ; 
Wha bade thee bigg within our bounds, 

Without the leave o' me? 

XVII. 

"But, an thou in our bounds will bigg> 
And bide as well as may be, 

Then thou thy dearest huswife maun 
To me for a lemman gie. " 

XVIII. 

Up spak the luckless husbande then, 

As God the grace him gae : 
"Eline she is to me sae dear, 

Her thou may nae-gate hae." 

XIX. 

Till the Elf he answered as he couth : 

"Let but my huswife be, 
And take whate'er, o' gude or gear 

Is mine, awa' wi' thee." 

xx. 

"Thine 1*11 thy Eline tak and thee, 

Aneath my feet to tread ; 
And hide thy gude and white monie 

Aneath my dwelling stead." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 295 

XXL 

The husbande and his househald a' 

In sairy rede they join : 
"Far better that she be now forfairn, 

Nor that we a* should tyne." 

XXII. 

Up, will of rede, the husbande stood, 

Wi' heart fu' sad and sair; 
And he has gien his huswife Eline 

Wi' the young Elf to fare. 

XXIII. 

Then blyth grew he, and sprang about; 

He took her in his arm ; 
The rud it left her comely cheek ; 

Her heart was clem'd wi' harm. 

XXIV. 

A waefu' woman then she was ane, 

And the moody tears loot fa* ; 
4 'God rew on me, unseely wife, 

How hard a weird I fa ! 

xxv. 

"My fay I plight to the fairest wight 

That man on mold mat see ; — 
Maun I now mell wi' a laidly El, 

His light lemman to be?" 

XXVI. 

He minted ance — he minted twice, 

Wae wax'd her heart that syth: 
Syne the laidliest fiend he grew that e'er 

To mortal eye did kyth. 

XXVII. 

When he the thirden time can mint 

To Mary's son she pray'd, 
And the laidly Elf was clean awa, 

And a fair knight in his stead. 



296 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XXVIII. 

This fell tinder a linden green, 
That again his shape he found ; 

O wae and care was the word nae mair 
A' were sae glad that stound. 

XXIX. 

"O dearest Eline, hear thou this, 

And thou my wife sail be, 
And a' the goud in merry England 

Sae freely I'll gi'e thee!" 

XXX. 

"Whan I was but a little wee bairn. 

My mither died me f ra ; 
My stepmither sent me awa fra her; 

I turn'd till an Elfin Gray. 

XXXI. 

"To thy husbande I a gift will gie, 

Wi' mickle state and gear. 
As mends for Eline his huswife ; — 

Thou's be my heartis dear. ' ' 

XXXII. 

"Thou nobil knyght, we thank now God, 
That has freed us f rae skaith ; 

Sae wed thou thee a maiden free, 
And joy attend ye baith ! 

XXXIII. 

"Sin I to thee nae maik can be 

My dochter may be thine ; 
And thy gud will right to fulfill, 

Lat this be our propine." — 

xxxiv. 
"I thank thee, Eline, thou wise woman: 

My praise thy worth sail ha'e ; 
And thy love gin I fall to win, 

Thou here at hame sail stay." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 



297 



XXXV. 



The husbande biggit now on his 6e t 
And nane ane wrought him wrang; 

His dochter wore crown in Engeland, 
And happy lived and lang. 



xxxvi. 



Now Eline, the husbande' s huswife has 
Cour'd a* her grief and harms 

She's mither to a noble queen 
That sleeps in a kingis arms. 



GLOSSARY TO "THE ELFIN GRAY. 



STANZA I. 

Wold, a wood; woody fast- 
ness. 

Husbande, from the Danish 
hos, with, and bonde, a 
villain, or bondsman, who 
was a cultivator of the 
ground, and could not quit 
the estate to which he was 
attached, without the per- 
mission of his lord. This 
is the sense of the word in 
the old Scottish records. 
In the Scottish "Burghe 
Laws," translated from 
the Reg. Majest. (Auchin- 
leck MS. in the Adv. 
Lib. ), it is used indiscrim- 
inately with the Danish 
and Swedish bonde. 

Bigg, build. 

Ligg, lie. 

Daes, does. 

STANZA II. 

Shaw, wood. 
Sairly, sorely. 



STANZA III. 

Aik, oak. 

Grewsome, terrible. 
Bald, bold. 

STANZA IV. 

Kipples ( couples ) , beams 
joined at the top, for sup- 
porting a roof, in building. 

Bawks, balks ; cross beams. 

Moil, laborious industry. 

Speer'd, asked. 

Knock, hillock. 

stanza v. 

Weiest, smallest. 

Crean'd, shrunk, diminished ; 
from the Gaelic, crian, very 
small. 

Immert, emmet; ant. 

Christian, used in the Dan- 
ish ballads, etc., in contra- 
distinction to demoniac, as 
it is in England in contra- 
distinction to brute; in 
which sense a person of 
the lower class in England 



298 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 



would call a Jew or a Turk 
a Christian. 
Fley, frighten. 

STANZA VI. 

Glowr'd, stared. 
Hald, hold. 

STANZA VII. 

Skugg, shade. 
Skaith, harm. 

STANZA VIII. 

Nighed, approached. 

STANZA IX. 

Yowls, bowls. 

Toots. — In the Danish tude 

is applied both to the 

howling of a dog, and the 

sound of a horn. 
Schraiche, screams. 
stanza x. 
Laidly, loathly ; disgustingly 

ugly. 
Grim, fierce. 

stanza XI. 
Winnock, window. 
Mint, aim at. 

STANZA XII. 

Coost, cast. 
Chalmer, chamber. 
Maist, most. 
Ava, of all. 

STANZA XIII. 

Norwart, northward. 
Trow, believe. 

STANZA XIV. 

Braids, strides quickly for- 
ward. 
Wad, would. 



STANZA xv. 

Canny, adroit. 
Mony, many. 
Weel-waled, well chosen. 

STANZA XVII. 

An, if. 
Bide, abide. 
Lemman, mistress. 

STANZA XVIII. 

Nae-gate, nowise. 

STANZA XIX. 

Couth, could, knew how to. 
Lat be, let alone. 
Gudes, goods; property. 

STANZA XX. 

Aneath, beneath. 
D walling - stead, dwelling- 
place. 

STANZA XXI. 

Sary, sorrowful. 
Rede, counsel ; consultation. 
Forfairn, forlorn ; lost, gone. 
Tyne (verb neuter), be lost; 
perish. 

STANZA XXII. 

Will of rede, bewildered in 
thought; in the Danish 
original, ' ' vilbraada^e ; M 
Lat. "in ops consilii;*' 
This expression is left 
among the desiderata 
in the Glossary to Ritson's 
Romances, and has never 
been explained. It is ob- 
solete in the Danish as 
well as in English. 

Fare, go. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



299 



STANZA XXIII. 

Rud, red of the cheek. 

Clem'd, in the Danish, klent 
(which, in the North of 
England, is still in use, as 
the word starved is with 
us); brought to a dying 
state. It is used by our 
old comedians. 

Harm, grief ; as in the orig- 
inal, and in the old Teu- 
tonic, English, and Scot- 
tish poetry. 

STANZA XXIV. 

Waefu, woful. 

Moody, strongly and wil- 
fully passionate. 

Rew, take ruth ; pity. 

Unseely, unhappy; unblest. 

Weird, fate. 

Fa (Isl. Dan. and Swed.), 
take; get; acquire; pro- 
cure; have for my lot. 
This Gothic verb answers, 
in its direct and secondary 
significations, exactly to 
the Latin capio; and Al- 
lan Ramsay was right in 
his definition of it. It is 
quite a different word from 
fa', an abbreviation of 
'fall, or befall ; and is the 
principal root in Fengan, 
to fang, take, or lay 
hold of. 

STANZA XXV. 

Fay, faith. 
Mold, mould; earth. 
Mat, mote; might. 
Maun, must. 
Mell, mix. 



El, an elf. This term, in 
the Welsh, signifies what 
has in itself the power of 
motion; a moving princi- 
ple; an intelligence; a 
spirit; an angel. In the 
Hebrew it bears the same 
import 

STANZA XXVI. 

Minted, attempted; meant; 
showed a mind, or inten- 
tion to. The original is : — 

"Hande mindte hende forst 
— og anden gang ; — 

Hun giordis i hiortet sa vee: 

End blef hand den lediste 
deifvel 

Mand kunde med cyen see. 

Der hand vilde minde den 
tredie gang," etc. 

Sych, tide; time. 

Kyth, appear. 

STANZA XXVIII. 

Stound, hour; time; mo- 
ment. 

STANZA XXIX. 

Merry (old Teutonic mere), 
famous ; renowned ; an- 
swering in its etymologi- 
cal meaning exactly to the 
Latin Mactus. Hence 
merry-men, as the address 
of a chief to his followers ; 
meaning, not men of mirth, 
but of renown. The term 
is found in its original 
sense in the Gaelic mara, 
and the Welsh mawr, great ; 
and in the oldest Teutonic 
Romances, mar, mer, and 



300 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



mere, have sometimes the 
same signification. 

STANZA XXXI. 

Mends, amends ; recom- 
pense. 

STANZA XXXIII. 

Maik, match; peer; equal. 
Propine, pledge; gift. 



STANZA XXXV. 

Oe, an island of the second 
magnitude; an island of 
the first magnitude being 
called a land, and one of 
the third magnitude a 
holm. 

STANZA XXXVI. 

Cour'd, recovered. 



THE GHAIST'S WARNING. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH K^EMPE VISER, PAGE 721. 

[By the permission of Mr. Jamieson, this ballad is 
added from the same curious collection. It con- 
tains some passages of great pathos.] 

Svend Dyring hand rider sig op under 6e, 

(Vare jeg selver ung) 
Der foeste hand sig saa ven en moe. 

(Mig lyster udi lunden at ride,) etc. 

Child Dyring has ridden him up under 6e,* 

(And O gin I were young!) 
There wedded he him sae fair f a may. 

(I* the greenwood it lists me to ride.) 

Thegither they lived for seven lang year, 

(And O, etc.) 
And they seven bairns hae gotten in fere. 

(I' the greenwood, etc.) 

* " Under 6e." — The original expression has been 
preserved here and elsewhere, because no other could 
be found to supply its place. There is just as much 
meaning in it in the translation as in the original ; but 
it is a standard Danish ballad phrase ; and as such, it is 
hoped, will be allowed to pass. 

t "Fair."— The Danish and Swedish ven, van, or 
venne, and the Gaelic ban, in the oblique cases bhan 
(van), is the origin of the Scottish bonny, which has so 
much puzzled all the etymologists. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 301 

Sae Death's come there intill that stead, 
And that winsome lily flower is dead. 

That swain he has ridden him tip under 6e, 
And syne he has married anither may. 

He's married a may, and he's fessen her hame; 
But she was a grim and laidly dame. 

When into the castell court drave she, 

The seven bairns stood wi' the tear in their ee. 

The bairns they stood wi' dule and dout : — 
She up wi' her foot, and she kicked them out. 

Nor ale nor meed to the bairnies she gave: 
"But hunger and hate frae me ye's have." 

She took frae them the bowster blae, 
And said, "Ye sail ligg i' the bare strae!" 

She took frae them the groff wax-light: 
Says, "Now ye sail ligg i' the mirk a' night!" 

*Twas lang i' the night, and the bairnies grat; 
Their mither she under the mools heard that ; 

That heard the wife under the eard that lay ; 
"For sooth maun I to my bairnies gae!" 

That wife can stand up at our Lord's knee, 
And "May I gang and my bairnies see! " 

She prigged sae sair, and she prigged sae lang 
That he at the last ga'e her leave to gang. 

"And thou sail come back when the cock does craw: 
For thou nae langer sail bide awa. " 



302 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Wi* her banes sae stark a bowt she gae : 
She's riven haith wa' and marble gray. * 

When near to the dwalling she can gang, 
The dogs they wow'd till the lift it rang. 

When she came till the castell yett. 
Her eldest dochter stood thereat. 

"Why stand ye here, dear dochter mine? 
How are sma brithers and sisters thine?" — 

"For sooth ye're a woman baith fair and fine; 
But ye are na dear mither of mine." — 

"Och! how should I be fine or fair? 

My cheek it is pale, and the ground's my lair." 

"My mither was white, wi' cheek sae red; 
But thou art wan, and liker ane dead." — 

"Och! how should I be white and red, 
Sae lang as I've been cauld and dead?" 

When she cam till the chalmer in, 

Down the bairns' cheeks the tears did rin. 

She buskit the tane, and she brush 'd it there, 
She kem'd and plaited the tither's hair. 

The thirden she doodled upon her knee, 
And the fourthen she dichted sae cannilie. 

She's ta'en the fifth en upon her lap. 
And sweetly suckled it at her pap. 



* The original of this and the following stanza is very 
fine: 

"Hun skod op sine modige been, 
Der revenede muur og graa marmorsteen. 
Der bun gik igenmen den by, 
De hunde de tude saa hojt i 'sky." 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 303 

Till her eldest dochter syne said she, 
"Ye bid Child Dyring come here to me." 

When he cam till the chalmer in, 
Wi' angry mood she said to him: 

"I left you routh o* ale and bread: 
My bairnies quail for hunger and need. 

"I left ahind me braw bowsters blae; 
My bairnies are ligging i' the bare strae. 

"I left ye sae mony a groff wax-light; 
My bairnies ligg i* the mirk a* nicht. 

"Gin aft I come back to visit thee, 

Wae, dowy, and weary thy luck shall be." 

Up spak little Kirstin in bed that lay : 
"To thy bairnies I'll do the best I may." 

Aye when they heard the dog nirr and bell, 
Sae ga'e they the bairnies bread and ale. 

Aye when the dog did wow, in haste 

They cross'd and sain'd themselves frae the ghaist. 

Aye whan the little dog yowl'd, with fear 

(And O gin I were young!) 
They shook at the thought that the dead was near. 

(I* the greenwood it lists me to ride.) 
or, 
(Fair words sae mony a heart they cheer.) 



304 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE, 



GLOSSARY TO "THE GHAIST'S WARNING. 



May, maid. 

Lists, pleases. 

Stead, place. 

Bairns, children. 

In fere, together. 

Winsome, engaging; giving 
joy(old Teutonic). 

Syne, then. 

Fessen, fetched, brought 

Drave, drove. 

Dule, sorrow. 

Dout, fear. 

Bowster, bolster; cushion; 
bed. 

Blae, blue. 

Strae, straw. 

Groff, great ; large in girt. 

Mark, mirk; dark. 

Lang i' the night, late. 

Grat, wept. 

Mools, mould; earth. 

Eard, earth. 

Gae, go. 

Prigged, entreated earn- 
estly and perseveringly. 

Gang, go. 

Craw, crow. 

Banes, bones. 

Stark, strong. 

Bowt, bolt; elastic spring, 
like that of a bolt, or ar- 
row from a bow. 



Riven, split asunder. 

Wa\ wall. 

Wow'd, howled. 

Lift, sky ; firmament ; air. 

Yett, gate. 

Sma\ small. 

Lire, complexion. 

Cald, cold. 

Till, to. 

Rin, run. 

Buskit, dressed. 

Kem'd, combed. 

Tither, the other. 

Routh, plenty. 

Quail, are quelled; die. 

Need, want. 

Ahind, behind. 

Br aw, brave; fine. 

Dowy, sorrowful. 

Nirr, snarl. 

Bell, bark. 

Sained, blessed : literally, 
signed with the sign of 
the cross. Before the in- 
troduction of Christianity, 
Runes were used in sain- 
ing, as a spell against the 
power of enchantment 
and evil genii. 

Ghaist, ghost. 



Note L. 

Why sounds yon stroke on beach and oak, 

Our moonlight circle's screen? 
Or who comes here to chase the deer, 

Beloved of our Elfin Queen? — P. 151. 

It has been already observed that fairies, if 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 305 

not positively malevolent, are capricious, and 
easily offended. They are, like other pro- 
prietors of forests, peculiarly jealous of their 
rights of vert and venison, as appears from 
the cause of offence taken, in the original 
Danish ballad. This jealousy was also an 
attribute of the northern Duergar, or dwarfs ; 
to many of whose distinctions the fairies seem 
to have succeeded, if, indeed, they are not the 
same class of beings. In the huge metrical 
record of German Chivalry, entitled the 
Helden Buch, Sir Hildebrand, and the other 
heroes of whom it treats, are engaged in one 
of their most desperate adventures, from a 
rash violation of the rose-garden of an Elfin r 
or Dwarf King. 

There are yet traces of a belief in this worst 
and most malicious order of fairies among the 
border wilds. Dr. Leyden has introduced 
such a dwarf into his ballad entitled the Cout 
of Keeldar, and has not forgotten his charac- 
teristic detestation of the chase. 

"The third blast that young Keeldar blew, 
Still stood the limber fern, 
And a wee man, of swarthy hue, 
Upstarted by a cairn. 

"His russet weeds were brown as heath 
That clothes the upland fell ; 
And the hair of his head was frizzly red 
As the purple heather-bell. 

4 'An urchin, clad in prickles red, 
Clung cowering to his arm ; 
The hounds they howl'd, and backward fled, 
As struck by fairy charm. 
20 



306 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

" 'Why rises high the stag-hound's cry, 
Where stag- hound ne'er should be? 
Why wakes that horn the silent morn 
Without the leave of me?' — 

4 * 'Brown dwarf, that o'er the muirland strays, 
Thy name to Keeldar tell !' — 
'The Brown Man of the Muirs, who stays 
Beneath the heather-bell.' 

*' ' 'Tis sweet beneath the heather-bell 
To live in autumn brown ; 
And sweet to hear the lav' rock's swell, 
Far, far from tower and town. 

4 * 'But woe betide the shrilling horn, 
The chase's surly cheer ! 
And ever that hunter is forlorn, 
Whom first at morn I hear.' " 

The poetical picture here given of the 
Duergar corresponds exactly with the follow- 
ing Northumbrian legend, with which I was 
lately favored by my learned and kind friend, 
Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, who has bestowed 
indefatigable labor upon the antiquities of the 
English Border counties. The subject is in 
itself so curious, that the length of the note 
will, I hope, be pardoned. 

"I have only one record to offer of the ap- 
pearance of our Northumbrian Duergar. My 
narratrix is Elizabeth Cockburn, an old wife 
of Offerton, in this county, whose credit, in a 
case of this kind, will not, I hope, be much 
impeached, when I add, that she is, by her 
dull neighbors, supposed to be occasionally 
insane, but, by herself, to be at those times 
endowed with a faculty of seeing visions, and 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 307 

spectral appearances, which shun the common 
ken. 

44 In the year before the great rebellion, two 
young men from Newcastle were sporting on 
the high moors above Elsdon, and after pur- 
suing their game several hours, sat down to 
dine in a green glen near one of the mountain 
streams. After their repast, the younger lad 
ran to the brook for water, and after stooping 
to drink, was surprised, on lifting his head 
again, by the appearance of a brown dwarf, 
who stood on a crag covered with brackens, 
across the burn. This extraordinary person- 
age did not appear to be above half the 
stature of a common man, but was uncom- 
monly stout and broad-built, having the 
appearance of vast strength. His dress was 
entirely brown, the color of the brackens, and 
his head covered with frizzled red hair. His 
countenance was expressive of the most savage 
ferocity, and his eyes glared like a bull. It 
seems he addressed the young man first, threat- 
ening him with his vengeance for having tres- 
passed on his demesnes, and asking him if he 
knew in whose presence he stood? The youth 
replied, that he now supposed him to be the 
lord of the moors; that he offended through 
ignorance ; and offered to bring him the game 
he had killed. The dwarf was a little molli- 
fied by this submission, but remarked, that 
nothing could be more offensive to him than 
such an offer, as he considered the wild ani- 
mals as his subjects, and never failed to avenge 
their destruction. He condescended further 



308 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

to inform him, that he was, like himself, mor- 
tal, though of years far exceeding the lot of 
common humanity; and (what I should not 
have had an idea of) that he hoped for salva- 
tion. He never, he added, fed on anything 
that had life, but lived in the summer on 
whortleberries, and in winter on nuts and 
apples, of which he had great store in the 
woods. Finally, he invited his new acquaint- 
ance to accompany him home, and partake his 
hospitality; an offer which the youth was on 
the point of accepting, and was just going to 
spring across the brook (which if he had done, 
says Elizabeth, the dwarf would certainly have 
torn him in pieces), when his foot was arrested 
by the voice of his companion, who thought 
he had tarried long: and on looking round 
again, 'the wee brown man was fled. ' The 
story adds that he was imprudent enough to 
slight the admonition, and to sport over the 
moors on his way homewards : but soon after 
his return he fell into a lingering disorder, 
and died within the year. " 

Note M. 

And gaily shines the Fairy-land — 
But all is glistening show. — P. 154. 

No fact respecting Fairy-land seems to be 
better ascertained than the fantastic and illu- 
sory nature of its apparent pleasure and splen- 
dor. It has been already noticed in the for- 
mer quotations from Dr. Grahame's entertain- 
ing volume, and may be confirmed by the 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 309 

following Highland tradition: "A woman, 
whose new-born child had been conveyed by 
them into their secret abodes, was also carried 
thither herself, to remain, however, only until 
she could suckle her infant. She, one day, 
during this period, observed the Shiichs busily 
employed in mixing various ingredients in a 
boiling caldron ; and, as soon as the composi- 
tion was prepared, she remarked that they all 
carefully anointed their eyes with it, laying the 
remainder aside for future use. In a moment 
when they were all absent, she also attempted 
to anoint her eyes with the precious drug, but 
had time to apply it to one eye only, when the 
Daoine Shi* returned. But with that eye she 
was henceforth enabled to see everything as it 
really passed in their secret abodes; she saw 
every object, not as she hitherto had done, in 
deceptive splendor and elegance, but in its 
genuine colors and form. The gaudy orna- 
ments of the apartment were reduced to the 
walls of a gloomy cavern. Soon after, hav- 
ing discharged her office, she was dismissed to 
her own home. Still, however, she retained 
the faculty of seeing, with her medicated eye, 
everything that was done, anywhere in her 
presence, by the deceptive art of the order. 
One day, amidst a throng of people, she 
chanced to observe the Shi'ich, or man of 
peace, in whose possession she had left her 
child; though to every other eye invisible. 
Prompted by maternal affection, she inadver- 
tently accosted him, and began to inquire after 
the welfare of her child. The man of peace, 



310 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

astonished at being thus recognized by one of 
iportal race, demanded how she had been en- 
abled to discover him. Awed by the terrible 
frown of his countenance she acknowledged 
what she had done. He spat in her eye, 
and extinguished it forever. " — Grahame's 
Sketches, pp. 116-118. It is very remarkable, 
that this story, translated by Dr. Grahame 
from popular Gaelic tradition, is to be found 
in the "Otia Imperialia ,, of Gervase of Til- 
bury.* A work of great interest might be 

* This story is still current in the moors of Staf- 
fordshire, and adapted by the peasantry to their own 
meridian. I have repeatedly heard it told, exactly as 
here, by rustics who could not read. My last authority 
was a nailer near Cheadle. — R. Jamieson. 

One other legend, in a similar strain lately commu- 
nicated by a very intelligent young lady, is given, prin- 
cipally because it furnishes an opportunity of pursuing 
an ingenious idea suggested by Mr. Scott, in one of his 
learned notes to the Lady of the Lake: — 

"A young man roaming one day through the forest, 
observed a number of persons all dressed in green, issu- 
ing from one of those round eminences which are com- 
monly accounted fairy hills. Each of them in succes- 
sion called upon a person by name, to fetch his horse. 
A caparisoned steed instantly appeared; they all 
mounted, and sallied forth into the regions of air. The 
young man, like Ali Baba in the Arabian Nights, ven- 
tured to pronounce the same name, and called for his 
horse. The steed immediately appeared ; he mounted, 
and was soon joined to the fairy choir. He remained 
with them for a year, going about with them to fairs 
and weddings, and feasting, though unseen by mortal 
eyes, on the victuals that were exhibited on those 
occasions. They had, one day, gone to a wedding, 
where the cheer was abundant. During the feast, the 
bridegroom sneezed. The young man, according to the 
usual custom, said, 'God bless you!' The fairies were 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 311 

compiled upon the origin of popular fiction, 
and the transmission of similar tales from age 
to age, and from country to country. The 
mythology of one period would then appear to 
pass into the romance of the next century, and 
that into the nursery-tale of the subsequent 
ages. Such an investigation, while it went 
greatly to diminish our ideas of the richness of 
human invention, would also show, that these 
fictions, however wild and childish, possess 
such charms for the populace, as enable them 
to penetrate into countries unconnected by 
manners and language, and having no appar- 
ent intercourse, to afford the means of trans- 
mission. It would carry me far beyond my 
bounds, to produce instances of this commun- 
ity of fable, among nations who never bor- 
rowed from each other anything intrinsically 
worth learning. Indeed, the wide diffusion of 
popular fictions may be compared to the facil- 
ity with which straws and feathers are dis- 
persed abroad by the wind, while valuable 
metals cannot be transported without trouble 
and labor. There lives, I believe, only one 
gentleman, whose unlimited acquaintance with 

offended at the pronunciation of the sacred name, and 
assured him, that if he dared to repeat it, they would 
punish him. The bridegroom sneezed a second time. 
He repeated his blessing; they threatened more tre- 
mendous vengeance. He sneezed a third time ; he 
blessed him as before. The fairies were enraged ; they 
tumbled him from a precipice ; but he found himself 
unhurt, and was restored to the society of mortals. ' ' — 
Dr. Grahame's Sketches, second edition, pp. 255-7. 
See Note, "Fairy Superstitions," Rob Roy, N. Edit. 



312 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

this subject might enable him to do it justice; 
I mean my friend Mr. Francis Douce, of the 
British Museum, whose usual kindness will, I 
hope, pardon my mentioning his name, while 
on a subject so closely connected with his ex- 
tensive, and curious researches. 

Note N. 

See, here all vantageless I stand, 

Arm'd like thyself with single brand. — P. 189. 

The duellists of former times did not always 
stand upon those punctilios respecting equality 
of arms, which are now judged essential to 
fair combat. It is true that, in former combat 
in the lists, the parties were, by the judges of 
the field, put as nearly as possible in the same 
circumstances. But in private duel it was 
often otherwise. In that desperate combat 
which was fought between Quelus, a minion 
of Henry III. of France, and Antraguet, with 
two seconds on each side, from which only 
two persons escaped alive, Quelus complained 
that his antagonist had over him the advan- 
tage of a poniard which he used in parrying, 
while his left hand, which he was forced to 
employ for the same purpose, was cruelly man- 
gled. When he charged Antraguet, with this 
odds, "Thou hast done wrong/' answered he, 
"to forget thy dagger at home. We are 
here to fight, and not to settle punctilios of 
arms." In a similar duel, however, a younger 
brother of the house of Aubayne, in Angoul- 
esme, behaved more generously on the like 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 313 

occasion, and at once threw away his dagger 
when his enemy challenged it as an undue ad- 
vantage. But at this time hardly anything 
can be conceived more horribly brutal and 
savage than the mode in which private quar- 
rels were conducted in France. Those who 
were most jealous of the point of honor, and 
acquired the title Ruffines, did not scruple to 
take every advantage of strength, numbers, 
surprise, and arms, to accomplish their re- 
venge. The Sieur de Brantome, to whose dis- 
course on duels I am obliged for these particu- 
lars, gives the following account of the death 
and principles of his friend, the Baron de 
Vitaux : — 

4 'J' ay oui conter a un Tireur d'armes, qui 
apprit a Millaud a en tirer, lequel s'apelloit 
Seigneur le Jacques Ferron, de la ville d'Ast, 
qui avoit este a moy, il fut despuis tue a 
Saincte-Basille en Gascogne, lors que Monsieur 
du Mayne l'assiegea, lui servant d'Ingenieur; 
et de malheur, je l'avois addresse audit Baron 
quelques trois mois auparavant, pour Texercer 
a tirer, bien qu'il en sceustprou; mais il no'en 
fit compte; et le laissant, Millaud s'en servit, 
et le rendit fort adroit. Ce Seigneur Jacques 
done me raconta, qu'il s'estoit monte stir un 
noyer, assez loing, pour en voir le combat, et 
qu'il nevist jamais homme y aller plus brave- 
ment, ny plus resolument, ny de grace plus 
asseuree ny determinee. II commenca de 
marcher de cinquante pas vers son ennemy, 
relevant souvent ses moustaches en haut d'une 
main; et estant a vingt pas de son ennemy, 



314 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

(non plustost,) il tnit la main a l'espee qu'il 
tenoit en la main, non qu'il l'eust tiree encore; 
mais en marchant, il fit voller le fourreau en 
Tair, en le secouant, ce qui est le beau de cela, 
<et qui monstroit bien une grace de combat 
b>ien asseuree et f roide, et nullement temeraire, 
comme il y en a qui tirent leurs espees de cinq 
cents pas de l'ennemy, voire de mille, comme 
j'en ay veu aucuns. Ainsi mourut ce brave 
Baron, le parogon de France, qu'on nommoit 
tel, a bien venger ses querelles, par grandes et 
-determinees resolutions. II n'estoit pas seule- 
ment estime en France, mais Italie, Espaigne, 
Allemaigne, en Boulogne et Angleterre; et 
desiroient fort les Estrangers, venant en 
France, le voir; car je 1'ay veu, tant sa re- 
nommee volloit. II estoit fort petit de corps, 
mais fort grand de courage. Ses ennemis disoi- 
ent qu'il ne tuoit pas bien ses gens, que par 
advantages est supercheries. Certes, je tiens 
de grands capitaines, et mesme d'ltaliens, qui 
ont estez d'autres fois les premiers vengeurs 
du mond, in ogni modo, disoientils, qui ont 
tenu cette maxime, qu'une supercherie ne se 
devoit payer que par semblable monnoye, et 
n'y alloit point la de deshonneur. ' ' — Oeuvres 
de Brantome, Paris, 1787-8. Tome viii. pp. 
90-92. It may be necessary to inform the 
reader, that this paragon of France was the 
most foul assassin of liis time, and had com- 
mitted many desperate -murders, chiefly by the 
assistance of his hired banditti ; from which it 
may be conceived how little the point of honor 
of the period cLeaerved its name. I have 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 315 

chosen to give my heroes, who are indeed of 
an earlier period, a stronger tincture of the 
spirit of chivalry. 

Note O. 
The burghers hold their sports to-day. — P. 201. 

Every burgh of Scotland of the least note, 
but more especially the considerable towns, 
had their solemn play, or festival, when feats 
of archery were exhibited, and prizes distrib- 
uted to those who excelled in wrestling, hurl- 
ing the bar, and the other gymnastic exercises 
of the period. Stirling, a usual place of royal 
residence, was not likely to be deficient in 
pomp upon such occasions, especially since 
James V. was very partial to them. His ready 
participation in these popular amusements was 
one cause of his acquiring the title of King of 
the Commons, or Rex Plebeiorum, as Leslie 
has latinized it. The usual prize to the best 
shooter was a silver arrow. Such a one is 
preveserved at Selkirk and at Peebles. At 
Dumfries, a silver gun was substituted, and the 
contention transferred to fire-arms. The cere- 
mony, as there performed, is the subject of an 
excellent Scottish poem, by Mr. John Mayne, 
entitled the Silver Gun, 1808, which surpasses 
the efforts of Fergusson, and comes near to 
those of Burns. 

Of James's attachment to archery, Pitscottie, 
the faithful, though rude recorder of the man- 
ners of that period, has given us evidence : — 

" In this year there came an embassador out 



316 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

of England, named Lord William Howard, 
with a bishop with him, with many other 
gentlemen, to the number of threescore horse, 
which were all able men and waled [picked] 
men for all kinds of games and pastimes, — 
shooting, louping, running, wrestling, and cast- 
ing of the stone, but they were well sayed 
[essayed or tried] ere they past out of Scotland, 
and that by their own provocation ; but ever 
they tint: till at last, the Queen of Scotland, 
the king's mother, favoured the English-men, 
because she was the King of England's sister; 
and therefore she took an enterprise of archery 
upon the English-men's hands, contrary her 
son the King, and any six in Scotland that he 
would wale, either gentlemen or yeomen, that 
the English-men should shoot against them, 
either at pricks, revers, or buts, as the Scots 
pleased. 

"The king, hearing this of his mother, was 
content, and gart her pawn a hundred crowns, 
and a tun of wine, upon the English-men's 
hands; and he incontinent laid down as much 
for the Scottish-men. The field and ground 
was chosen in St. Andrews, and three landed 
men and three yeoman chosen to shoot against 
the English-men, — to- wit, David Wemys of 
that ilk, David Arnot of that ilk, and Mr. John 
Wedderburn, vicar of Dundee; the yeoman, 
John Thomson, in Leith, Steven Taburner, 
with a piper, called Alexander Bailie; they 
shot very near, and warred [worsted] the Eng- 
lish-men of the enterprise, and wan the hun- 
dred crowns and the tun of wine, which made 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 317 

the king very merry that his men wan the vic- 
tory/' (P. 147.) 

Note P. 

These drew not for their fields the sword, 
Like tenants of a feudal lord, 
Nor own'd the partiarchal claim, 
Of Chieftain in their leader's name : 
Adventurers they P. 219. 

The Scottish armies consisted chiefly of the 
nobility and barons, with their vassals, who 
held lands under them, for military service by 
themselves and their tenants. The patriarchal 
influence exercised by the heads of clans in the 
Highlands and Borders was of a different 
nature, and sometimes at variance with feudal 
principles. It flowed from the Patria Potestas, 
exercised by the chieftain as representing the 
original father of the whole name, and was 
often obeyed in contradiction to the feudal 
superior. James V. seems to have first intro- 
duced, in addition to the militia furnished from 
these sources, the service of a small number of 
mercenaries, who formed a body-guard, called 
the Foot-Band. The satirical poet, Sir David 
Lindsay (or the person who wrote the prologue 
to his play of the "Three Estaites"), has intro- 
duced Finlay of the Foot-Band, who, after 
much swaggering upon the stage, is at length 
put to flight by the Fool, who terrifies him by 
means of a sheep's skull upon a pole. I have 
rather chosen to give them the harsh features 
of the mercenary soldiers of the period, than 



318 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

of this Scottish Thraso. These partook of the 
character of the Adventurous Companions of 
Froissart or the Condottieri of Italy. 

One of the best and liveliest traits of such 
manners is the last will of a leader, called Gef- 
froy Tete Noir, who having been slightly 
wounded in a skirmish, his intemperance 
brought on a mortal disease. When he found 
himself dying, he summoned to his bedside the 
adventurers whom he commanded, and thus 
addressed them: — 

"Fayre sirs, quod Geffray, I knowe well ye 
have alwayes served and honoured me as men 
ought to serve their soveraygne and capitayne, 
and I shall be the gladder if ye wyll to have to 
your capitayne one that is descended of my agre 
blode. Beholde here Aleyne Roux, my cosyn, 
and Peter his brother, who are men of armes 
and of my blode. I require you to make 
Aleyne your capitayne, and to swere to hym 
faythe, obeysaunce, love and loyalte, here in 
my presence, and also to his brother: howe be 
it, I wyll that Aleyne have the soverayne 
charge. Sir, quod they, we are well content, 
for ye hauve ryght well chosen. There all the 
company ons made theym servyant to Aleyne 
Roux and to Peter his brother. Whan all that 
was done, then Geffray spake agayne, and 
sayde: Nowe, sirs, ye hauve obeyed to my 
pleasure, I canne you great thanke ; wherefore, 
sirs, I wyll ye have parte of that ye have 
holpen to conquere. I say unto you, that in 
yonder chest that ye se stande yonder, therin 
is to the some of XXX thousande frankes, — I 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 319 

wyll give them accordynge to my conscyence. 
Wyll ye all be content to fulfil my testament: 
how saye ye? Sir, quod they, we be ryght well 
contente to fulfyl your commaundment. 
Thane firste, quod he, I wyll and give to the 
Chapell of Saynt George, here in this Castell, 
for the reparacions therof, a thousand and five 
hundrede frank es: and I give to my lover who 
hath truly served me, two thousand and five 
hundrede frankes; and also I give to Aleyne 
Roux, your new Captayne, four thousande 
frankes; also to the varlettes of my chambre I 
gyve fyve hundrede frankes. To mine off ycers 
I gyve a thousand and five hundred frankes. 
The rest I gyve and bequeth as I shall show 
you. Ye be upon a thyrtie companyons all of 
one sorte : ye ought to be bretherne, and all of 
one alyaunce, without debate, ryotte, or stryfe 
among you. All this that I have shewed you 
ye shall fynde in yonder cheste. I wyll that 
ye departe all the resydue equally and truelly 
bitwene you thyrtie. And if ye be nat thus 
contente but that the devylle wyll set debate 
bytwene you, than beholde yonder is a strong 
axe, breke up the coffer, and gette it who can. 
To those words every man ansuered and said : 
Sir and dere maister we are and shall be all of 
one accorde. Sir, we have so moche loved and 
doubted you that we will break no coffer nor 
breke no poynt of that ye have ordayned and 
commaunded. " — Lord Berners's Froissart. 



320 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

Note I. 
And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King. — P. 247. 

This discovery will probably remind the 
reader of the beautiful Arabian lale of II Bon- 
docani. Yet the incident is not borrowed from 
that elegant story, but from Scottish tradition. 
James V., of whom we are treating, was a 
monarch whose good and benevolent intentions 
often rendeied his romantic freaks venial, if 
not respectable, since, from his anxious atten- 
tion to the interests of the lower and most 
oppressed class of his subjects, he was, as we 
have seen, popularly termed the King of the 
Commons. For the purpose of seeing that 
justice was regularly administered, and fre- 
quently from the less justifiable motive of gal- 
lantry, he used to traverse the vicinage of his 
several palaces in various disguises. The two 
excellent comic songs, entitled "The Gaber- 
lunzie Man," and "Well gae nae mair a rov- 
ing," are said to have been founded upon the 
success of his amorous adventures when travel- 
ing in the disguise of a beggar. The latter is 
perhaps the best comic ballad in any language. 

Another adventure, which had nearly cost 
James his life, is said to have taken place at 
the village of Cramond, near Edinburgh, where 
he had rendered his addresses acceptable to a 
pretty girl of the lower rank. Four or five 
persons, whether relations or lovers of his 
mistress is uncertain, beset the distinguished 
monarch as he returned from his rendezvous. 
Naturally gallant, and an admirable master of 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 321 

his weapon, the king took post on the high and 
narrow bridge over the Almond river, and 
defended himself bravely with his sword. A 
peasant, who was threshing in a neighboring 
barn, came out upon the noise, and whether 
moved by compassion or by natural gallantry, 
took the weaker side, and laid about with flail 
so effectually, as to disperse the assailants, 
well threshed even according to the letter. He 
then conducted the king into his barn, where 
his guest requested a basin and a towel, to 
remove the stains of the broil. This being pro- 
cured with difficulty James employed himself 
in learning what was the summit of his deliv- 
erer's earthly wishes, and found that they were 
bounded by the desire of possessing, in prop- 
erty, the farm of Braehead, upon which he 
labored as a bondsman. The lands chanced to 
belong to the crown ; and James directed him 
to come to the palace of Holyrood, and inquire 
for the Guidman (i. e. farmer) of Ballenguich, 
a name by which he was known in his excur- 
sions, and which answered to the II Bondocani 
of Haroun Alraschid. He presented himself 
accordingly, and found, with due astonishment, 
that he had saved his monarch's life, and that 
he was to be gratified with a crown-charter of 
the lands of Braehead, under the service of 
presenting a ewer, basin, and towel, for the 
king to wash his hands, when he shall happen to 
pass the Bridge of Cramond. This person was 
ancestor of the Howieson's of Braehead in Mid- 
Lothian, a respectable family, who continue to 

21 



322 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

hold the lands (now passed into the female line) 
tinder the same tenure.* 

Another of James's frolics is thus narrated 
by Mr. Campbell from the Statistical Account: 

44 Being once benighted when out a-hunting, 
and separated from his attendants, he hap- 
pened to enter a cottage in the midst of a 
moor, at the foot of the Ochil hills, near Alloa, 
where, unknown, he was kindly received. In 
order to regale their unexpected guest, the 
gudeman (i. e. landlord, farmer) desired the 
gudewife to fetch the hen that roosted nearest 
the cock, which is always the plumpest, for the 
stranger's supper. The king, highly pleased 
with his night's lodging and hospitable enter- 
tainment, told mine host, at parting, that he 
should be glad to return his civility, and 
requested that the first time he came to Stirl- 
ing he would call at the castle, and enquire for 
the Gudeman of Ballenguich. Donaldson, the 
landlord, did not fail to call on the Gudeman 
of Ballenguich, when his astonishment at find- 
ing that the king had been his guest afforded 
no small amusement to the merry monarch and 
his courtiers; and, to carry on the pleasantry, 
he was thenceforth designated by James with 
the title of King of the Moors, which name and 

* [The reader will find this story told at greater length, 
and with the addition in particular of the king being 
recognized, like the Fitz-James of the Lady of the Lake, 
by being the only person covered, in the First Series of 
Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 37. The heir of 
Braehead discharged his duty at the banquet given to 
King George IV. in the Parliament House at Edinburgh, 
in 1822.-- Ed.] 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 323 

designation have descended from father to son 
ever since, and they have continued in posses- 
sion of the identical spot, the property of Mr. 
Erskine of Mar, till very lately, when this 
gentleman, with reluctance, turned out the 
descendant and representative of the King of 
the Moors, on account of his majesty's invinc- 
ible indolence, and great dislike to reform or 
innovation of any kind, although, from the 
spirited example of his neighbor tenants on the 
same estate, he is convinced similar exertion 
would promote his advantage. ' ' 

The author requests permission yet farther 
to verify the subject of his poem, by an extract 
from the genealogical work of Buchanan of 
Auchmar, upon Scottish surnames: — 

"This John Buchanan of Auchmar and 
Arnpryor was afterwards termed King of Kip- 
pen,* upon the following account: King James 
V., a very sociable, debonair prince, residing 
at Stirling, in Buchanan of Arnpryor's time, 
carriers were very frequently passing along the 
common road, being near Arnpryor's house, 
with necessaries for the use of the king's fam- 
ily ; and he, having some extraordinary occa- 
sion, ordered one of these carriers to leave his 
load at his house, and he would pay him for it ; 
which the carrier refused to do, telling him he 
was the king's carrier, and his load for his 
majesty's use; to which Arnpryor seemed to 
have small regard, compelling the carrier, in 
the end, to leave his load; telling him, if King 

* A small district of Perthshire. 



324 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

James was King of Scotland, he was king of 
Kippen, so that it was reasonable he should 
share with his neighbor king in some of these 
loads, so frequently carried that road. The 
carrier representing this usage, and telling the 
story, as Arnpryor spoke it, to some of the 
king's servants, it came at length to his 
majesty's ears, who, shortly thereafter, with a 
few attendants came to visit his neighbor king, 
who was in the meantime at dinner. King 
James having sent a servant to demand access, 
was denied the same by a tall fellow with a 
battleaxe, who stood porter at the gate, telling, 
there could be no access till dinner was over. 
This answer not satisfying the king, he sent to 
demand access a second time ; upon which he 
was desired by the porter to desist, otherwise 
he would find cause to repent his rudeness. 
His majesty finding this method would not do, 
desired the porter to tell his master, that the 
Goodman of Ballaneigh desired to speak with 
the King of Kippen. The porter telling 
Arnpryor so much, he, in all humble manner, 
came and received the king, and having enter- 
tained him with much sumptuousness and 
jollity, became so agreeable to King James that 
he allowed him to take so much of any provi- 
sion he found carrying that road as he had 
occasion for; and seeing he made the first 
visit, desired Arnpryor in a few days to return 
him a second to Stirling, which he performed, 
and continued in very much favor with the 
king, always thereafter being termed King of 
Kippen while he lived." — Buchanan's Essay 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 325 

upon the Family of Buchanan. Edin. 1775, 
8vo, p. 74. 

The readers of Ariosto must give credit for 
the amiable features with which he is repre- 
sented, since he is generally considered as the 
prototype of Zerbino, the most interesting hero 
of the Orlando Furioso. 



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